As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough
by Alusy
Summary: Neji finds out Tenten is dating Sasuke. Hell breaks loose and disaster can't be far behind as new relationships form and old ones break. More pairings inside. [Complete]
1. Prologue

What you need to know:

"Love Makes Life Hard" - speaking

Love Makes Life Hard -what's happening

_Love Makes Life Hard -_ thinking

**Love Makes Life Hard **- Inner Sakura (and only Inner Sakura)

Summary:

Neji has a secret he needs to tell Tenten, but it seems Tenten has been keeping a secret as well. Hell breaks loose and disaster can't be far behind as new relationships form, old ones break, and everything is messed up. Rated T for language, etc. Pairings in the beginning will change.

This is the first story I don't completely plan out, and the first story that is more than two chapters. The first chapter is very short, but **please** don't think it's lame because of the beginning! I'll get the next chapter up tomorrow if I can, but if I can't, it'll be up by Tuesday at the absolute latest.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters, to my dismay. (

* * *

Chapter One: Prologue

Neji walked around the town, looking for Tenten. He had a secret to tell her, and he had to tell her now before he exploded. A few people waved their hand and greeted him, but he merely sped past them, not even sparing his trademark 'hn' that only he and Sasuke had mastered. As she speedily walked down a road, he knew he was nearing her. He rounded a corner to see something he never wanted to see in his whole life. Tenten was walking with Sasuke Uchiha, holding his hand, and smiling.

Neji stopped and immediately dashed backwards, hiding behind a building. He peeked out of the side and looked at the couple. Sasuke and Tenten seemed to be saying their good-byes. Sasuke moved forwards, gave Tenten a little kiss on the cheek, waved, and walked away. Neji took a long breath in, and exited his hiding place. Tenten turned around and saw the Hyuuga boy walking towards her, trying to act as if she wasn't there. "Hey, Neji!" she greeted warmly as she walked towards him as well. She rose a hand in welcoming.

Neji brushed his shoulder against hers, whispered, "Congratulations," and continued walking off.

Tenten froze in her spot with her hand still in the air. Her hearts beating was faint, as well as her breathing. She turned around, intending to explain what was happening, but when she did, he was no longer there. "Neji," she whispered inaudibly at the spot he should have been in.

* * *

I told you it's really short. I know you can't really review on this chapter, but if you have anything to say about it, please review. The later chapters will be longer than this, I assure you. Thanks for reading this, and expect better things than this in the later chapters! 


	2. The Sleepover

What you need to know:

"Love Makes Life Hard" speaking

Love Makes Life Hard what's happening

_Love Makes Life Hard _ thinking

**Love Makes Life Hard ** Inner Sakura (and only Inner Sakura)

Summary:

Neji has a secret he needs to tell Tenten, but it seems Tenten has been keeping a secret as well. Hell breaks loose and disaster can't be far behind as new relationships form, old ones break, and everything is messed up. Rated T for language, etc. Pairings in the beginning will change.

Okay, here's the second chapter. Turns out I have more spare time than I thought it did. Anyways, I see nobody reviewed on my first chapter (which is understandable) but I hope I get at least one review on this chapter. If I end up not getting any reviews, I'm just gonna keep updating because I want to keep stories I that I make when I'm younger, so I can look at them again when I'm older.

So far, the pairings are:

Tenten X Sasuke.

More will develop, I assure you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters, to my dismay.

* * *

Chapter Two: The Sleepover

"And so I'm inviting Sakura, Ino, and Tenten over for a sleepover tonight," Hinata finished. She had finally lost her stuttering habit, but her voice was still as soft as a pillow stuffed with cotton candy. Neji should have been listening to his cousin's response after he asked her if she was doing anything that night, but he blanked off as the picture of Sasuke gently kissing Tenten's cheek re-entered his mind. "Are you doing anything tonight, Neji?"

Neji thought for a few seconds. Finally, he responded. "Yes, actually. I am inviting Naruto, Shikamaru, and," he paused. Normally, he would have invited Sasuke over, because even though they hated each other, they were still considered a group of four with the other two boys. "Kiba," he responded finally, choosing the third name that came to his mind. Sasuke was definitely out of the question. Having Lee _and_ Naruto could not be good for his hearing. Instead, he chose another random member of the Konoha 12.

"Kiba?" Hinata repeated.

"Yes, Kiba."

"I see," she replied as she stood up from the chair. She tucked it in and walked away from the table. "I hope you have fun with Naruto, Shikamaru, and _Kiba_," she said, oddly stressing the last name. This was like a logic problem. Four items are given; three belong, and one does not. Kiba, does not belong in the group of Neji, Naruto, and Shikamaru. Sasuke belongs. So, this is the million dollar question. Why is Kiba in the group now, and Sasuke is not? Hinata shook her head, not able to fully understand what was going on in the head of her stolid cousin.

Neji stared at his empty bowl, but continued to pick an imaginary noodles with his chopsticks. Now he would have to invite those people over. He left his bowl and chopsticks on the table, which were quickly picked up by a maid. He entered his room and picked up the cordless phone on his desk. Neji dialed Naruto's phone number as he lay on his back on his bed. "Naruto?"

"Hey, Neji!" Naruto exclaimed. "What's up?"

"Do you want to come over?"

"You mean like a sleepover?" Naruto asked childishly.

"Yeah," Neji replied, not catching on to how girly Naruto thought he was.

"Sure! What time?"

Neji heard the door open and the excited chattering of three more girls. "As soon as possible," he responded. "Oh, and call Kiba."

"Don't you mean, 'call Sasuke'?" Naruto asked with confusion.

Neji tightened his grip around his blanket and let out a low growl. "No," he replied through his gritted teeth, "call Kiba. I'll call Shikamaru." Before Naruto could argue, Neji hung up and punched his bed. The mattress let out a squeak of pain. Before he could smash the whole Hyuuga property, he decided to call Shikamaru.

"Hello?" a lazy voice sighed.

"Shikamaru. My house. Now." Neji decided to be a little more stern with his approach to Shikamaru, knowing he was going to complain about how troublesome it would be.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru sighed. Typical. Either Neji was a psychic, or Shikamaru was just that typical. "What time, who is this, and who's going?"

Neji slapped his forehead, physically and mentally. Shikamaru had no idea of who this was, yet he asked what time, and who's going. "As soon as possible, Neji, and Naruto and Kiba are coming." He heard Shikamaru give out another sigh of 'how troublesome'.

"Not Sas---"

Before Shikamaru could finish his sentence, Neji had hung up. He was not in the mood to hear that name, nor even think about him at the moment. Screw the nine-tailed fox; if you got Neji any more mad than he was at the moment, you'll be losing much more than your home village and Hokage. He lay on his bed for minutes, waiting for the doorbell to ring throughout the empty compound. All of the Hyuugas had left on a mission, strangely enough, and so Hinata, Neji, and Hanabi were the only ones left. Sure enough, the doorbell rang. There was only one problem, though, and it was a huge problem to Neji. The girls were in the living room, which was open to the door. So if Neji were to go to the door, he would see the girls, or more importantly, Tenten.

"Psst, Hanabi!" he hissed, waving his cousin over.

Hanabi skipped in his room and raised an eyebrow. "Why are _you_ calling _me_ over?" she asked. Neji hardly ever spoke to Hanabi. There were the few occasional greetings as they passed each other on the property, but other than that, nothing special.

"I need you to go get the door and let the guys there in my room. It should be Naruto, Shikamaru, and Kiba. Don't let them dawdle," he said quickly, irritated at the repeated rings. Obviously Naruto was the one ringing it.

Hanabi nodded and pranced out. She opened the door and stared up at the three boys. "Neji is waiting in his room for you. He said I'm not supposed to let you dawdle, so hurry up!" She ushered them in, closed the door (just letting Naruto in), and pushed them quickly towards Neji's room.

Naruto, however, realized the girls were all there, and stopped. Hanabi tried as hard as she could, but she was unable to move Shikamaru, Naruto, and Kiba all at the same time anymore. Especially if they were fighting back. "Hey, Hinata! Ino! Sakura! Tenten! What are you guys doing here?"

"I invited them over for a sleepover," Hinata replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Neji invited us over for a sleepover!"

Every girl twitched, including Hanabi, at that comment. Neji plus sleepover was just...strange. Especially if he was the one who organized it. "I NEVER SAID IT WAS A SLEEPOVER, YOU DID!" Neji yelled, obviously able to hear what they were saying. Apparantly, he just realized how girly a sleepover sounded.

"Well, we're crashing here anyways," Shikamaru stated. "My parents are out of town on a mission with Ino's parents, and I told them I was staying here for the night."

Hanabi frowned. "Hinata, if you and Neji get to have a sleepover with your friends, can I have a sleepover with my friends too?"

"Who are you thinking of inviting?" Hinata asked. Neji, at this time, finally swallowed his courage and entered the room, leaning against the doorframe as if trying to stay hidden. Everyone could see him.

"Moegi, Konohamaru, and Udon!" Hanabi chirped.

Everyone gave a '--' expression. _Hanabi is the only one mature enough to invite both genders to a sleepover,_ they all thought sadly.

"How about you go to their house?" Neji suggested. "Moegi has a big house, doesn't she?"

Hanabi perked up and smiled. "Yeah, yeah, she does! I'll over right now! She isn't doing anything tonight, and neither is Konohamaru nor Udon!" She turned around and began to walk towards the door with a suspiciously already packed bag.

"How do you know these things?" Naruto asked loudly.

Hanabi stopped in her tracks and smiled evilly in the shadows. She slowly turned and looked over her shoulder. "I have my ways, I assure you," she said mysteriously and darkly. Silence. Then she fully whipped around and smiled brightly. "Well, I'll be going now! Have fun you guys, and don't do anything I wouldn't do!" She gave a sly wink and rushed out the door. Silence again. Perhaps Hanabi was a little _too_ mature for her own age. But who could have taught her that sly wink?

All eyes turned to Naruto, who was whistling innocently. "WellcomeonNejilet'sgo!" he said quickly, grabbing his bag again and dashing into Neji's room.

Shikamaru and Kiba followed Naruto to Neji's room. Neji glanced unemotionally at Tenten before following his friends, leaving Tenten with a bad feeling of guilt in her stomach. It was obvious to her why Neji did not invite Sasuke. _He's just angry that I didn't tell him Sasuke's my boyfriend, so he's pinning the blame on Sasuke. That's why he isn't inviting Sasuke here. Stupid jerk.' _Tenten stood up. "I'm gonna go get changed so I don't have to later," she explained, grabbing her bag.

Hinata nodded. "Your room is marked," Hinata said. "There's a silver plate with your name outside of your door. There's a balcony there too, so you can just go outside there whenever you want."

"Thanks. I think I'm gonna go there after I change, so don't expect me back right away." Tenten walked off, searching for her room. Sure enough, like Hinata said, there was a silver plate with her name on it outside of a door. She opened it, closed the door, and immediately saw the large two doors with large windows in the middle of both leading to the balcony. Tenten lazily threw her bag onto her beg, ripped her clothes out of her bag, and put them on. It was a white shirt with long, black sleeves, a panda in the middle, and black pants. Tenten gently pulled her hair out of the buns and for once let them loose.

She opened the door to the balcony and immediately walked up and leaned against the railing. It was hard and cold, made from a special silver substance only found in Konoha. Tenten always wanted at least one thing in her house to be made of that, even a kunai, but it was too expensive. That was the reason the Hyuuga clan had it. _On every balcony,_ Tenten thought jealously. Being one of the richest clans in Konoha, they could afford anything and everything. She held her hands to her arms and placed them on the railing.

Tenten closed her eyes and let out a deep moan as the gentle breeze teased her cascading hair. She couldn't remember the last time she felt the cold, fresh wind against her cheeks like that before. Every other time it was windy, she couldn't pay attention to it because she was either running with, at school, or at the mall with..._Neji_.

"Tenten?" a surprised voice asked from beside her.

_Oh no,_ Tenten thought desperately. Nonetheless, she slowly turned to come face to face with the person she really didn't want to see. Neji. His hair was now untied and his forehead protector off, showing the bandages. He wore a long, black, short sleeved shirt and white shorts. He looked surprisingly...hot! "Oh, hi. I didn't know this is your balcony. I mean, Hinata told me this is my room," she pointed to her room, "and that I could go on this balcony any time."

"This balcony is connected to my room as well." He pointed to another door at the other side of the balcony. "I come out here at night to breathe in some fresh air." He also leaned against the railing, sending Tenten a message that he wasn't about to leave.

Tenten forced a smile, but she was being eaten up inside. She couldn't stand how Neji could be so calm and act as though he didn't see Sasuke and her together only a few days before. She didn't seem him after that, because neither made an effort to see each other after the incident. "Look, Neji, about a few days ago," she said uncomfortably, "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you. It's just, Sasuke told me he liked me so suddenly, and he looked like he was about to beg, and I just couldn't say no!"

"So you're dating him out of pity," Neji concluded, trying to stop his voice from rising in anger.

Tenten shook her head and looked straight forwards again. "It started that way," Neji felt his heart break a little, "but then I started to actually like him for who he is. Now I really think I like him. But please don't tell any of the girls, because none of them know yet. Sakura will definitely be angry at me, and I can't deal with that, especially if we're sleeping in the same house tonight!" She looked at him desperately. "Please, promise you won't tell anyone!"

Neji looked into her worried eyes and instantly sensed the fear in her heart and the multiple pleas she was sending. That was the look Neji could never deny. Never. "I promise," he mumbled. Tenten still didn't believe him. His eyebrow raised when she stuck her pinky out at him. "Pinky swearing? Isn't that a little immature?"

Tenten giggled and smiled. "Come on!" she said stubbornly. Neji sighed with defeat and hooked his pinky with hers. Tenten tried to keep a straight face, but she was unable to suppress the growing giggles inside of her. Neji's expression was priceless. Right after that, Tenten brought Neji into an embrace. "Thanks, Neji. I can always trust you," she whispered into his ear.

They broke apart and stared into each others eyes. Tenten found his milky eyes so alluring, and they were staring right back into her chocolate coated eyes. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. _Neji, I'm truly sorry I didn't say anything. God, I feel like I'm cheating on Sasuke by thinking thoughts about Neji. No, I don't even like him, and he doesn't like me! We're just friends, stupid! _But no matter how many times Tenten insulted herself, or told her otherwise, her heart would not give up on the boy she once loved. A few moments of awkward silence passed until Tenten spoke up again. "Look, I've gotta go. The girls are waiting for me." She gestured to the door.

Neji nodded and turned to face his door. "Yeah, the guys are waiting for me too," he said as he walked to his room. "See you later," he added quietly, unsure if Tenten could actually hear him.

* * *

Well, there's the second chapter! I said it would be longer, and it is, right? Well don't forget the special code found on R&R!

Preview of Next Chapter:

"Do you know where Naruto, Shikamaru, or Neji are? I tried calling Naruto and Shikamaru at home, but they didn't answer."  
Hinata began to have a panic attack. Sweat slid down her face as she thought of and threw away multiple excuses flooding her mind. "I-I don't know?" she said uneasily, hoping the excuse worked.  
Sasuke looked at her strangely. "Isn't Neji home?"


	3. Oops

What you need to know:

"Love Makes Life Hard" - speaking

Love Makes Life Hard - what's happening

_Love Makes Life Hard - _ thinking

**Love Makes Life Hard ** - Inner Sakura (and only Inner Sakura)

"_Love Makes Life Hard"_ - Singing

_Text centered in the page with italics - _ the song being sung by the artist

Summary:

Neji has a secret he needs to tell Tenten, but it seems Tenten has been keeping a secret as well. Hell breaks loose and disaster can't be far behind as new relationships form, old ones break, and everything is messed up. Rated T for language, etc. Pairings in the beginning will change.

So far, the couples are:

Tenten X Sasuke. Still. As you will see at the bottom of this page, (the preview for the next chapter,) there are more pairings coming up. I know it's taken a little longer to get this chapter up, but I just had a french test and a math test, which I got 32/47 on XO Math used to be my favourite subject, but now I hate it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters, to my dismay.

* * *

Chapter Three: Oops...  


The four girls sat in a circle, staring at one another like a hunter would its prey. Sakura gazed into Ino's eyes, as if getting ready to pounce on her. "Give it up, Ino. I can see through your lies, now tell me," she paused dramatically and lowered her voice, "do you have an eight?"

Sakura saw the look of defeat on Ino's face as she slammed the eight of clubs down and growled, "Damn!" Another awkward silence as the girls peeked at their opponents from behind their cards, trying to see any sign of what card the other held. "Tenten, do you have a king?"

Tenten looked down at her cards and smirked triumphantly. "Nope, go fish."

Ino frowned and picked up yet another card. "I've got like the whole pond in my hand!" she whined, trying to keep the cards from falling from her hand. Sure enough, Ino did have the most cards out of all of them, but she did not have the whole pond.

"It's impossible to have the whole pond in your hand, Ino," Hinata stated in a know-it-all tone. "If you did, then you would have many pairs and you would place them down. You would actually win." Hinata smiled and looked at her cards, making sure she did not miss any pairs.

Ino's jaw dropped. "You mean if you have pairs, you're supposed to put them down?" she gasped, her wide ocean eyes staring at her cards with disbelief. Hinata nodded slowly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, but tried to be nice about it. "I thought you could only put your cards down when you had every suit of a number!" she growled. The other girls couldn't help but burst out laughing and rolling on the floor. Ino would have popped a vein right then and there, but instead, she cracked a smug smile and began to arrange her cards in a certain order. After a few seconds, she placed them all down. The three girls immediately stopped laughing and stared at the completed sets of cards. "Done," Ino said innocently.

"C-Cheater!" Sakura exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at her blond friend. "That's not fair!"

Ino brought her hands up and shrugged. "Neither is life," she said sagely, receiving a playful whack across the head from Sakura. Ino shifted so she sat on her knees and bent over so her face was close to Hinata. "So, hey, have you told Naruto you like him yet?" Ino asked. "I mean, he's right here! You should totally tell him tonight! It could be like a love story! It would be so dramatic! You tell him you like him, he blushes and doesn't say anything, you take it that he doesn't like you back, you start to cry and tun out, he comes after you later on, he tells you he loves you, you hug and or kiss, then you snuggle together in blankets in front of the TV and a burning fireplace! It's _perfect_!"

"Sounds like you've planned this out," Sakura joked.

But Ino did not sense the joke. "I have! I'm writing my own love story, but it sounds too cliché," she complained.

"Maybe you should make it so the girl doesn't get the guy of her dreams," Tenten suggested sarcastically.

It seemed as though Ino's sarcasm/joking dectors were broken that night, because she only sensed the suggestion part. "That's a great idea! The girl could end but all alone, and the guy finds a girlfriend instead. Or maybe I should kill off one of the two and---"

"No. Way." the other girls said in unison, shocked at the fact that their best friend would actually kill someone off to make a story less cliché.

Suddenly, the doorbell echoed throughout the almost empty house. Hinata raised an eyebrow, not expecting anyone else, unless Neji had abruptly decided to invite Sasuke over, which would not happen. She was sure. Nonetheless, she stood up and opened the door. Sure enough, Sasuke Uchiha was standing on her doorstep. "Hey," he greeted nonchalantly, "do you know where Naruto, Shikamaru, or Neji are? I tried calling Naruto and Shikamaru at home, but they didn't answer."

Hinata began to have a panic attack. Sweat slid down her face as she thought of and threw away multiple excuses flooding her mind. "I-I don't know?" she said uneasily, hoping the excuse worked.

Sasuke looked at her strangely. "Isn't Neji home?"

Hinata would have filled the Nile River, if it was empty, will all the sweat she was sweating. "I---Yes, but he's busy...ummm...sleeping." As if his timing couldn't be any worse, Neji stepped out into the room and headed for the kitchen. "O-Oh, Neji!" Hinata said with fake shock, but real fear, "you've woken up! Sasuke was just looking for you!"

Neji paused. _Shit,_ he thought. "Hey," he muttered, continuing his journey to the kitchen.

"Hey, Neji," Sasuke said, "do you know where Naruto or Shikamaru are? I tried calling them and neither of them answered."

"No," Neji answered simply, not bothering to pause.

"Oh." Sasuke's eyes caught a glance of the rest of the guests behind Hinata and waved. "Hey Tenten," he smiled, "Sakura, Ino," he added, not wanting to make anyone suspicious about their secret relationship. "I'll see you guys later, then." He walked out the door, with Hinata slowly closing it after him, and taking a deep breath as she closed it.

Neji also let out a deep breath and placed his hand on his chest, knowing how awkward it would be if Sasuke found out he was the only one in their group that was not invited to his little 'sleepover'.

It was apparant that the boys had terrible timing that night, or perhaps Hinata was just too slow at closing doors. But no matter what the reason, Naruto came prancing in the room, intending to stack up on bowls of ramen before the boys began to party. "Hey, Neji, where's your ramen?" Naruto asked loudly, as if everyone in the house was deaf.

Tenten smacked her forehead with her palm as Neji's and Hinata's eyes widened with fear. _Maybe Sasuke didn't hear him,_ Hinata and Neji thought together.

Then Neji shook his head. _No way; that's impossible. There's just no way Sasuke was unable to hear Naruto's obnoxious voice, especially if it was that loud. _He chuckled softly to himself at his super awesome diss, but then quickly realized what the meant. _DAMN IT, SASUKE HEARD! _"Hinata! Close the d---" but before Neji could finish, Sasuke had pushed the door open, overpowering the poor girl behind the door. "Naruto, get out of here!" he hissed quickly, hoping Naruto would just retreat back into the hallway he was near.

"But why?" Naruto asked stupidly.

Half of Neji wanted to strangle Naruto, and the other half of him wanted to strangle Hinata for being so slow at closing doors. How hard was it to close a door and lock it, before a loud, obnoxious buffoon ran in and blurted out a stupid phrase? "Naruto?" Sasuke questioned, realizing his 'friend' was there. "What are you doing here?"

Before Naruto could blab the rest of the story, Neji stepped in. "He's stupid. I'm just tutoring him in math, that's all."

"I thought you said you didn't know where Naruto or Shikamaru were," Sasuke said suspiciously, bringing up Neji's previous comment.

Hinata, seeing Naruto was going to say something, quickly reacted by closing the door (faster than the last time), running beside him, and grabbing his hand to silence him. "Naruto just got here, right?" she asked, squeezing his hand threateningly as if she would strangle him if he said otherwise. Out of character for her, but she felt she needed to do it.

"Oi, what's taking you guys so long?" Shikamaru sighed lazily, stepping out of the shadows in the hallway.

Hinata began to sweat wildly again, feeling as though it was partly her fault that Neji was in such an awkward position. "S-Shikamaru, you're here too! O-Oh yeah, I remember! Ino wanted to...a-ask you something for math!"

"Math?" Shikamaru asked. "I'm here because Neji invited me."

Silence. _And he's supposed to be the genius?_ Neji asked, almost near comical tears of how stupid he realized his friends were.

"Invited?" Sasuke repeated, catching onto what was going on. "So, you've invited the rest of the group for some fruity sleepover, except for me, behind my back? Were you guys planning to talk about me?"

"If it's so fruity, why are you complaining that you weren't invited?" Neji retorted with attitude. Neji was not only stepping over the line. He was jumping on it, sprinkling it with flammable liquid, setting it on fire, and stomping on its ashes.

Sasuke took a few steps forwards threateningly and crossed his arms angrily. "What's your problem?"

Neji also took a few steps forwards and crossed his arms as well. "My problem is that you, nor Tenten, have told me that you two have been going out for how many days now? Even weeks? Tenten is a very good friend of mine, and you are a very good friend of mine. Obviously, I'm not quite good at picking friends, because I would have thought two of my best friends would have told me if they decided to go out with each other. Wouldn't you want to know if I was dating another girl close to you? Sakura, perhaps?"

"Shut up," Sasuke growled. "Don't act like you know me."

"You're dating Sasuke?" Sakura and Ino gasped at the same time.

Tenten's eyes blanked out, enveloped with fear, as she glued them to the floor. Sasuke immediately realized what was happening, and felt his heart sinking as he quickly glanced at his girlfriend. Everyone was either staring at Tenten, or Sasuke. Everyone except for Neji, who regretted blurting out their secret. Sure, he was angry, but he still felt horrible.

Tenten couldn't think of what to do. She could just tell them with attitude, and ask if they have a problem with that. Or, she could apologize repeatedly and beg that they forgive her for not telling them. She could even run out on them and pray they'll pity her. She did have all of next day, which was Sunday, to gather herself, her courage, and her excuses. Or, Tenten could wait for someone else to start talking, and answer them honestly. There was an extensive pause, but finally, Hinata opened her mouth to say something.

* * *

Okay, this chapter was a little short, but I wanted to add a cliff-hanger, so here it is The main pairing in this story is Neji X Tenten, but the other girls will have their pairings too. There will be love triangles, just two people, oddly-shaped pairings (deformed object. Not a triangle, but something of the sort XP), etc. Please remember to review! I accept flames (I'm that desperate for review...) 

Preview of Next Chapter:

Ino whipped around, her puffy red eyes staring deeply into his. "Why don't you just shove your tongue back in her throat?"

Shikamaru took a step back, as if her words had pushed him away from her. "What," he inquired, "are you talking about?"

Tears started to stream down Ino's eyes again as she clenched her fists, trying not to punch him in the face. "I saw you! I saw you, yesterday, making out with Temari." She could feel her heart breaking slowly as she said each word, but pushed herself on. "And don't even lie to me, Shikamaru! I really thought you liked me when Naruto told me Saturday night, but obviously it was just another stupid assumption Naruto made. And he just had to tell me!"


	4. Take That Knife Out of my Back, please

What you need to know:

"Love Makes Life Hard" - speaking

Love Makes Life Hard - what's happening

_Love Makes Life Hard _- thinking

**Love Makes Life Hard **- Inner Sakura (and only Inner Sakura)

"_Love Makes Life Hard"_ - Singing

_Text centered in the page with italics _- the song being sung by the artist

Summary:

(I changed the summary).

As if high school wasn't hard enough, Neji finds out Tenten is dating Sasuke. Hell breaks loose and disaster can't be far behind as new relationships form and old ones break. More pairings inside. Summary sucks. R&R!. Used to be Love Makes Life Hard.

This is sort of confusing, because I don't want to add the "crushes". If I do, it'll be like:

Tenten X Sasuke

Sakura X Sasuke

Ino X Sasuke

Ino X Shikamaru

Temari X Shikamaru

Hinata X Naruto

But that sort of messes up what the real couples are, and what the crushes are. So this is the only official couple so far:

Tenten X Sasuke.

And this is the only triangle to far:

Ino X Shikamaru X Temari (it's coming up, and it was in the preview in the last chapter)

I know Tenten and Neji also like each other, but it isn't official yet because neither of them admitted their feelings for the other yet.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters, to my dismay.

Chapter Four: Take That Knife Out of my Back, please.

"C-Congratulations," Hinata stuttered uneasily, hoping to break the tension and awkwardness in the atmosphere. "Congratulations to b-both of you." The boys, Hinata, and Tenten all shifted their weight simultaneously.

Sakura and Ino looked as though they were about to burst. Both girls were known to be the biggest fangirls of Sasuke Uchiha at school. Sakura was known as the closer friend, but Ino later joined as the four groups of friends joined together and instantly developed a crush on said boy. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were a group of childhood friends, so Sakura had more information about Sasuke than Ino did. Unfortunately, Ino began quite popular with the rest of the girls in their class, and some of the boys, so she received information from the people Sasuke hung out with, and from rumours. Since then, Sakura and Ino had what their friends liked to call a 'healthy rivalry'.

Both girls forced a smile and nodded, trying not to cause a scene or a problem. They tried to look at the bright side of this. At least they would be closer friends with each other, right? "Yeah, congratulations!" both girls chirped in unison.

Tenten sighed with relief and placed her right hand over her heart. "You don't know how happy I am to hear that! I thought you guys would be angry that Sasuke and I have been going out without your knowledge." Then she turned to face Neji and gave him the 'you dumbass' look, since he broke his promise he just made her. Surprising enough, Tenten was the only girl to perfect that look. Sakura perfected the 'I know more than you' look, Ino perfected the 'In your face' look, and Hinata, with the help of the other three girls, perfected the 'I pity you' look. Each girl was able to perfect the 'Boys are so stupid' look, as well as many others. Quoting the boys, it is one of the very few talents the girls possess. They received a smack on the head from each of the girls.

"So, how 'bout we all get together to form one big sleepover?" Naruto suggested. "You staying, Sasuke?"

Neji thought of exactly 253.5 ways to kill Naruto. Don't ask how he thought of 0.5, because he just did. Sasuke caught the angry expression on Neji's face, and planned to say yes, just to make Neji angry, but his cell phone began to ring. "Hello?" he answered. "Oh, hey. I'm at Neji's. When did you get here? Yeah, okay. See you." He flipped his cell phone closed and put it back in his pocket. "I'd love to," he smirked at Neji, "but that was just my brother, Itachi. He just arrived here and he wants me to help him unpack and set a whole bunch of things up. He's got a break from university."

"Too bad," Neji mumbled to himself.

"Hmmm? Did you say something, Neji?" Naruto asked obliviously.

Neji rolled his eyes. The one time Naruto acted smart this evening, and it had to be the one time when Neji didn't want him to. "No, nothing. Just wondering if you're meeting up with us at Ichiraku tomorrow," he responded.

Sasuke shook his head. "Sorry, but my brother said he wants me to help him all day tomorrow as well. He's got a few things to drop off here and there, and it's been a while since he's been in Konoha."

Shikamaru yawned. "Well, I guess it's just gonna be the eight of us. How troublesome."

The sun set twice, and rose twice. It was finally monday. Tenten made everyone at the sleepover promise they would't tell anybody about Sasuke and herself. Everyone nodded and crossed their hearts, laughing at their immaturity afterwards. Finally, the bell signalling the beginning of school rung throughout the crowded building.

Everyone walked into their homeroom and sat down. Lucky for them, their homeroom was the science lab. The desks were large and made of marble with four, strong, steel legs supporting the weight. Two students sat at each table, in the twice as large classroom. Neji beside Tenten, Lee beside Kiba next to them, Hinata beside Shino beside them, Shikamaru and Choji behind Neji and Tenten, Ino and Sakura beside them, and Naruto and Sasuke beside them. (A/N: If you're confused, it's like this...)

Seating Plan:

- Person beside that person at the same table

- next table

NejiTenten LeeKiba HinataShino (other people XP)

ShikamaruChoji InoSakura NarutoSasuke (other people again XP)

(A/N: And just another note, all of the desks are straight. Ignore how uneven I made the seating.)

Hinata and Tenten turned around to face Sakura and Ino and smiled. Ino, however, didn't return the look. She scowled, rocked on the back two legs of her high chair, and crossed her arms, causing Sakura to clear her throat uncomfortably. "Something wrong, Ino?" Hinata questioned, realizing something was wrong with her friend.

Ino rested her elbow on the desk and brought her fingers to her lips. The three girls noticed how her lower lip began to suddenly tremble and how she looked as though she was about to burst into tears any second. They decided to leave it before they had to wipe up the fallen tears of Ino Yamanaka. The bell rang, signalling that their next class was about to begin. All of them headed to gym class, which was the only class they all had together. Everyone came out, changed and ready to go. Both genders were allowed to choose from a white shirt, a grey shirt, or a green shirt, as long as the school logo was on it. Black shorts were required.

"Okay!" their teacher, Gai, exclaimed, striking a pose. "You will start by running laps around the field for six minutes. Remember to pace yourselves. If you must, you may walk, but push yourselves, and let the power of youth explode!"

Everyone nodded and exited the gym, heading for the field. It hadn't rained the past weekend, so the grass beneath them wasn't as wet as it was last time. In fact, it was so dry that if you slid, you'd get a grass version of a floor burn. Shikamaru jogged up to Ino, who insisted on running by herself. Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji were another group of childhood friends that joined the large group of friends they were in now. Shikamaru and Choji recognized many signs Ino would 'subtly' give them. A ticked off look really meant she was ticked off. Shikamaru took that look as a joke once. First he saw Ino's fist heading towards him, and the next thing he saw was the hospital roof, and a nurse asking if he had enough sleep the past three days he was knocked-out. Also, both boys noted that it doesn't matter if Ino's happy, because with a snap of the fingers, she could change her moods. Lastly, although Shikamaru seemed best at this, they were able to tell when something was bothering Ino.

"Is something wrong? You didn't smile back at Hinata and Tenten when they smiled at you earlier," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Nothing is wrong," she mumbled back, continuing to jog a small distance ahead of Shikamaru, who blatantly showed he wasn't going to leave.

Shikamaru shook his head. "How troublesome. You know, Temari isn't---"

Ino stopped and whipped around, her puffy red eyes staring deeply into his. "Why don't you just shove your tongue back in her throat?"

Shikamaru stopped as well and took a step back, as if her words had pushed him away from her. "What," he inquired, "are you talking about?"

Tears started to stream down Ino's eyes again as she clenched her fists, trying not to punch him in the face. "I saw you! I saw you, yesterday, making out with Temari." She could feel her heart breaking slowly as she said each word, but pushed herself on. "And don't even lie to me, Shikamaru! I really thought you liked me when Naruto told me Saturday night, but obviously it was just another stupid assumption Naruto made. And he just had to tell me!"

_**FLASHBACK**_

"Hey, hey, Ino!" Naruto whispered, pulling Ino to the side.

Ino gave Naruto a suspicious look, not trusting her friend one bit. "What is it, Naruto? What's so important that you just had to tell me right now, and that it had to be private?" She tried to read his eyes, but it seemed as though he put on a mask. That is, until his expression changed from impassive to devillish.

"I've got some juicy gossip I heard, and I'm sure you'd want to hear it too," he replied slyly.

Ino suddenly showed some interest. "What is it?"

Naruto made a tut-tut sound and wagged his finger, trying to make Ino angry. When she let out a low growl, Naruto took it as his time to tell her. "Oh, well, when we were playing truth or dare, Shikamaru said something about having a crush on you. I'm pretty sure that's what he said, I mean, but I was just coming back from the bathroom so I may have heard wrong. But I'm really sure!"

Ino's heart began to flutter as she felt as though she was being lifted off the ground. "Thanks a lot for telling me, Naruto!" she squealed.

_**END OF FLASHBACK**_

"I said you could walk," Gai's voice called. "I never said you could stop walking, you two!" Ino turned her back on him, physically and emotionally, and ran off, intending on finding her 'true' friends. "You too, Shikamaru! Start running!"

"Tch, troublesome," Shikamaru muttered as he began to jog slowly. _I was just going to say Temari invited us to the movies with her brothers, but I guess Ino was thinking something else. Okay, maybe I didn't go into the subject at the right time, but it just popped in my head! Aw man, Ino's gonna hate me now! _he thought lazily. "Oi, Neji, wait up!"

Shikamaru picked up his pace a little, just so he could catch up to his other friend. Shikamaru could tell Neji was a little busy with boring holes into Sasuke's back and head. "I heard you and Ino fighting," he stated, not taking his eyes off of Sasuke. "Naruto thought he heard you say Ino's name, not Temari's. It's a shame, really. I always knew he would be the one to mess something up."

"No kidding," Shikamaru replied. "Now, Ino hates me! She's probably gonna nag me double time about everything I do. Kakashi-sensei will be able to tell when I'm sleeping in Ninjutsu."

Neji smirked and took his eyes off of Sasuke for once, and turned them to Shikamaru. "Well, I still don't know if Tenten hates me or not. I mean, I promised I wouldn't tell anybody and I told them only a few hours after I made that promise. She hasn't spoken to me after that. She won't even look at me, yet."

"You should try and approach her next block," Shikamaru suggested, "since Sasuke isn't in her blocks until the last block."

"And are you going to approach Ino and tell her what you really think?"

"No," Shikamaru said. "Oh, by the way, Temari invited all of us to a movie with her brothers on friday. You interested in coming?"

"Hn."

"Good; I'll take that as a yes. Just tell everyone else about it. You tell one girl, besides Ino, and it'll spread to the rest. That way, you won't have to tell Tenten. You can just tell Hinata."

"Hn," Neji repeated.

"Okay, everyone," Gai's voice exclaimed, "you may come in now! We will now start basic taijutsu techniques that you learned last year."

It was now the third block. Coming after this, would be lunch, then the last two blocks of the day.Neji had totally bombed the chance to talk to Tenten in the previous block. He went up to approach her at her desk during Art, but Sakura cut in front of him and began to incessantly, causing Neji to back down.

But this was this chance. Neji Hyuuga was ready, prepared, and he was going to take a chance. They were all reviewing for a genjutsu test on wednesday, since Asuma-sensei wanted to smoke for a few minutes. _Few minutes my ass,_ Neji thought. But he wasn't complaining. This gave him more time to gather himself and approach Tenten. He walked up the empty desk beside her and turned so his whole body was facng her. "Tenten, we need to talk," he said sternly.

Tenten didn't move for a few seconds, as though she was trying to remember the excuses she thought up only the night before. Finally, she closed her book, still not looking straight at him. "You broke your promise, Neji. What else am I supposed to say?"

Neji expected this, so he thought a few steps. "You don't have to say anything, because I want to say something," he answered. "Look, I'm really sorry for breaking our promise, but you did break a promise yourself. You, Lee, and I promised when we were younger that we would share our promises. You haven't been truthful about your secret relationship with Sasuke, and I guess I was just angry about it." He paused. "But then again, I haven't been truthful about a secret I have either," he added. "Look, Tenten, I---"

The last words were unheard by Tenten, for the bell signalling lunch was ringing above his somewhat quiet voice. If he was Hinata, Tenten wouldn't be able to hear him at all. If he was Naruto, hearing him was a high possibility. But no, Neji's voice was half way between the two, except when he was angry. Neji's mouth had stopped moving, but Tenten couldn't respond to his statement. "Sorry, I couldn't hear that last part. But I have to go. Sasuke's waiting for me." With that, she stood up with her books and left.

Neji raised an eyebrow. She didn't seem quite happy when she said she had to go, nor when she said Sasuke was waiting for her. She sounded so..._empty_. This was not like the Tenten he knew since kindergarten. No, she sounded unhappy to be in her current relationship.

_**FLASHBACK (to only a few minutes/seconds ago)**_

"Look, Tenten, I...Ilikeyou," he said quickly. "And I'm not saying this because I'm jealous. I'm saying this because I really do care for you, and I have a feeling Sasuke's going to break your heart." Neji was too caught up in the moment, that he did not realize the bell was ringing while he was talking.

_**END OF FLASHBACK**_

He would just have to tell her another time. He could walk her back home after the movies, since he lived quite close to her, and Sasuke lived on the other side of town. If he got Tenten on his side for only that one moment, he knew Sasuke would back down.

Neji picked his books up and slowly walked out of the empty room, trying to gather himself for lunch.

During the third block, Sakura was copying down mathematical equations that Anko was scribbling on the board. As she did that, Lee was fidgeting in his seat, waiting for lunch so he could get up and stretch his legs. "Sakura," he whispered, "what time is it?"

Sakura paused and looked at her pink and black digital watch. "11:47," she muttered. She picked her pencil up, but then dropped it again and dropped her head down. "Hey Lee, don't you think it's weird how Sasuke and Tenten are dating? Tenten just...doesn't seem like the type to date, and neither does Sasuke. I mean, I know Sasuke, and he never showed any affection for a girl before. He's only showed small signs of friendship, but that's it. Is Tenten the type to date?"

"Nope," Lee remark. "Tenten has never shown any likings for any boy. She has always been very close to Neji and myself, but she never showed any affection for either of us either. It seems this relationship caught both of us off-guard."

_Sasuke's supposed to be my boyfriend,_ Sakura thought angrily. _Tenten should have known that! And besides that, Sasuke's one of my best friends. I can't believe she'd just get together with Sasuke without seeing if I was okay with it! And not just me, but Ino too, since **we're** the ones who've liked him for a longer time! _She clenched her pencil and bent it with ease, breaking it in half. **CHA! I'M SO ANGRY!**

"Sakura, are you okay?" Lee asked, concern visible in his tone. He noted her anger when half of her pencil fell to the ground.

Sakura's eyebrows arched down, but then something hit her like a truck. She smiled mischievously and turned to Lee. "Oh, I'm perfectly fine, Lee! Thanks for asking!" she said sweetly.

Tenten walked beside Sasuke to the cafeteria, where they would join their friends. The two walked hand-in-hand, deciding it was time everyone should know they were dating. Many heads turned to see Tomboy Tenten and I'm-Not-Interested-In-Girls-But-I'm-Not-Gay Sasuke. An average girl in high school, with Mr. Popular. The Neji fangirls were singing praises since they now knew Tenten would not steal Neji from them. But their praises were cut short when they were forced to hold their Sasuke Fangirl friends back from pummeling Tenten.

Sasuke walked in front of her and held the door open politely. "Thanks," Tenten sang. Sasuke nodded and jogged to catch up to her. Both locked hands again and went to get some food before joining the rest of the group. Tenten reached in her pocket to get her wallet and pulled it out. "Aw man!' she sighed. "I don't have any money!"

The lunch lady showed no hint of caring about Tenten's situation at all. "I'll pay," Sasuke said smugly as he brought extra money out of his own wallet.

"Thanks so much!" Tenten exclaimed with relief, grabbing her tray and walking off to find everyone else.

"Welcome," Sasuke sighed, picking his tray up and following her. They found Naruto, who was waving wildly at them, and approached the table. Both placed their trays on the large table and pulled out a chair each. Everyone was already waiting for the couple. Everyone except for two people. "There you two are!" Ino exclaimed after a few seconds. "What took you guys so long?"

Everyone turned around and gasped. It was a good thing nobody had anything in their mouths, or it would have all dropped out onto the floor. "Sorry, but Lee and I had to stop by my locker to pick up my wallet. But then I lost it and we had to go to Lost and Found to get it back, but I didn't have any money. Lee was really sweet, though. He paid for it for me!" Sakura was holding Lee's hand, who was a deep shade of red. "Thanks so much again, Lee!"

"N-No problem, Sa-Sakura," Lee stuttered.

Tenten couldn't believe what was happening. Sakura was holding hands with Lee, and acting like they were a couple. And after that, hell broke loose.

This is my longest chapter yet! So now, as you can tell, there are more pairings. And more will be coming in the next chapter, or the one after that. I'm not quite sure yet. I'll have a few small timeskips. For example, I might skip to friday sometimes, because I might not have much to say when they're at school. Another update will be coming soon, since I'm having my spring break! Oh yeah, and I'm sorry for those Sakura fans (I'm a Sakura fan). She may seem like she's a b---- in the beginning, but I thought it would just add to the drama.


	5. Enter, Lead Fangirl

What you need to know:

"As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough" - speaking

As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough - what's happening

_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough _- thinking

**As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough **- Inner Sakura (and only Inner Sakura)

"_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough"_ - Singing

_Text centered in the page with italics _- the song being sung by the artist

Summary:

(I changed the summary again XP).

Neji finds out Tenten is dating Sasuke. Hell breaks loose and disaster can't be far behind as new relationships form and old ones break. More pairings inside. Summary sucks. R&R!. Was 'Love Makes Life Hard.'

Official 'couples' so far:

Tenten X Sasuke.

Sakura X Lee

Love triangle(s) to far:

Ino X Shikamaru X Temari

Sorry this one took a little longer to get up, but I totally blanked out on this chapter. My friend told me I should take a break, but I really didn't want to. I know nothing really happens, but I didn't want to rush into the movie scene. I noticed in stories, that the ones that rush into dramatic moments are the ones that aren't as good. It's good to have a few things inbetween, right?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters, to my dismay.

* * *

Chapter Five: Enter, Lead Fangirl.

Sakura pulled out a chair and sat across from Tenten like nothing was out of the ordinary. Lee, on the other hand, quietly pulled his chair out as well and glued his eyes to his bowl of ramen (A/N: Yes, in my story, the cafeteria serves ramen). "So," Tenten said, "you guys are..._together?_"

Sakura picked up her chopsticks and played with her noodles in a lovesick manner. "Oh, yeah. We just got together, actually. Lee has been asking me out a few times before, and finally I've decided to ask him out instead."

"That's really weird," Naruto commented loudly, slurping an endless stream of ramen. "I never thought you two would get together."

"So, what made you two want to get together?" Kiba interrogated. _This is too sudden,_ he noted. _There's something fishy around here._

Sakura stared into nothing, deep in thought. "Well, Lee's just really sweet. I mean, he's always asking me if I'm okay, and he's always helping me. I'm really surprised I didn't realize how much he means to me before."

Tenten forced herself not to roll her eyes. _That's because you judge on appearances, Sakura. _"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Oh, I just thought that since you and Sasuke got together without telling us, that Lee and I could get together as well. But we told you a couple minutes afterwards, so I guess that's good conscience." _Now you know how it feels, don't you, Tenten? Sasuke was a very close friend of mine, and you dated him without consulting with me. So, I'm gonna date your other best friend without caring what you think. _Sakura twirled a strand of her hair flirtatiously and quickly glanced at Sasuke, who seemed to be staring at her.

Tenten pushed her chair away and stood up, grabbing her finished tray. "Well, I'm happy for you two," she said fakely, forcing an angry smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go finish some genjutsu homework Asuma-sensei assigned us." She hastily turned around and walked away, leaving everyone staring at her dumbstruck.

_Asuma-sensei didn't assign us any genjutsu homework,_ Neji thought suspiciously.

The end of school was official when the last bell for the day rang. Students wasted no time getting out of school. They poured out like a swarm of bees and separated into their groups, deciding where they should go next. The group of twelve met outside. Tenten would not look at Sakura. Neji would not look at Tenten. Tenten would not look at Lee. Lee continued to glue his eyes to the ground. Suddenly, a loud voice shouted out Shikamaru's name. Everyone turned to see four blonde pigtails bobbing up and down as the figure approached them. She gave Shikamaru a quick peck on the cheek and stood beside him.

Ino forced a smile when she saw Temari. "Hey everyone!" Temari chirped, giving them all a smile. "Did Shikamaru tell you about the movies this friday?"

"I told a few of them," Shikamaru muttered.

Temari pouted and playfully punched his arm. "Geez, Shika, I ask you a simple favour and you can't even do that!" She shook her head with fake disappointment and sighed. "Anyways, as I said, my brothers and I were just thinking we could all go to the movies together on friday. What do you guys say?"

Positive scattered responses were heard such as 'of course,' 'sure,' and 'hn' from the two prodigies. "So, what movie are we going to watch?" Naruto chirped.

"A romance movie!" Sakura sang.

"Action," Tenten retorted.

"Drama," Ino hissed venomously, narrowing her eyes evilly. "One about a group of friends, and one stabs another in the bac---"

She was cut off by a hard nudge to her ribs. Her eyes darted up to meet Tenten, who cleared her throat loudly. "Ummmm, no," Temari said simply. "It's called _'Damn Hormones' _(1). It's about a group of kids that are really close friends, then one guy starts falling for another girl. So he really wants to tell that girl how he feels, but he can't because that girl just gets a boyfriend. Then, everything gets screwed up. It's drama, like Ino said, romance, like Sakura wanted, and...well, I guess catfights count as action, right? Oh yeah, and slight humour."

Tenten snorted. "Sure," she laughed. "What time?"

Temari tilted her head and smiled. "Make it 7!"

"Hey, Temari," a familiar voice called. "Hurry up!" Everyone turned to see Kankuro and Gaara heading towards them. "Oh, hey, Tenten! Congrats on your new relationship, by the way. Sorry I couldn't tell you when you told me before, but it was sorta shocking."

Neji cocked an eyebrow. "When did she tell you?"

Kankuro rubbed his chin in thought and replied, "Hmmm, a few weeks ago? Maybe two weeks ago from today." Neji's eyebrows arched down as Kankuro turned to Temari. "Now, come on. Gaara wants to get home." He leaned forwards and whispered into Temari's ear, "And we don't want to make Gaara mad. So let's just go!"

Temari nodded and smiled again. "Okay, I got it. Congrats, by the way!"

* * *

Finally, it was friday. The days went by slowly, or at least it did for Tenten. Everytime she at Neji, who was practically in every class with her, he seemed to glare at her. _But that's just what Neji's regular look is, right? He's always glaring at every moving thing!_ She rolled her eyes and sighed. _Yeah, Tenten, just keep telling yourself that._ She picked her pencil up and began to play with it, as though it was a kunai, completely ignoring what Kakashi was telling them.

"Since you seem so interested in what I'm saying," Kakashi said louder, "perhaps you'd like to tell me what the 25th principle of Shinobi Conduct is." Tenten continued to ignore Kakashi unknowingly, feeding the growing annoyance in Kakashi. "Neji, check if your friend over there isn't sleeping with her eyes open."

Neji gave her a quick nudge at her supporting arm, catching the poor brunette off-guard. Her arm caved in and her head came in swift contact with her hard desk. "Huh? What?" she asked, rubbing her forehead.

Kakashi sighed. _I should have listened to my mom. I should have stayed as an ANBU. But no, I had to go and volunteer to work at some school, teaching the World's Most Stupidest Ninjas. Well, it's a good thing I don't have that Uzumaki kid. I would have killed myself by now. _"The 25th principle of Shinobi Conduct."

Tenten opened her mouth to stall time, but another girl cut her off."A shinobi never shows his feelings no matter what the circumstance is. Feelings are a weakness that only cloud his judgement and weaken his sense of duty," she responded in a know-it-all tone. "That is what the 25th principle of Shinobi Conduct is, Kakashi-sensei." She had long black locks tumbling down her shoulders and stunning green eyes. She wore a white tanktop with the words 'I get what I want' on it, and a green miniskirt. Her name was Kei, and she was the lead fangirl of the Neji Hyuuga fan club. She and Tenten had a tough rivalry. Tenten was Neji's best friend (that was a girl). Kei drilled the idea that Tenten was trying to steal Neji away from her into her head.

"I wasn't asking you, Kei," Kakashi broadly, "but I'm glad at least someone was listening to my lesson." _I wonder if my position as ANBU was already taken. It's only been two years, so who says I can't get my job back? Okay, maybe the Hokage did. But that's besides the point!_

The class watched Kakashi's odd facial expressions change every few seconds. Most were creeped out by this sudden strange attitude. Before they could do anything, the bell rang, signalling the end of school. Tenten picked her books up and went to follow Neji out the door. _I need to find out why he's been throwing me these dark looks like I've murdered his pet cat or something. _She was nearing him. Closer and closer. Tenten reached her hand out to grab his shoulder, but it came in contact with something else. "What do you want, Kei?"

Kei placed her hands on her hips and frowned. "Why were you going to talk to Neji, and what about?"

"I don't think that's any of your business," Tenten sneered. "And I don't think you have the right to guard him from me. If I remember correctly, he _detests_ fangirls, like you. _I'm_ his best friend, not _you._ So get out of my way." _Damn it! This girl is wasting my time. Neji could have already left for all I know, and here I am, talking to a brainless zombie that **still** thinks she has a chance with Neji! _"Kei, get out of my way!" Tenten repeated after Kei still did not move.

Kei opened her mouth to say some 'smart' comeback, but paused when she felt a firm hand grab her shoulder. "Is there something going on here, Tenten?" a solid voice asked.

Kei whipped around to come face-to-face with Sasuke. "S-S-Sasuke! Why are you here? I thought your locker is on the other side of the school."

"It is," he stated plainly, "but I came to get Tenten. It seemed like she was taking a long time to get to her locker. So, are you going to let her through, or do I have to move you myself?" Kei stared at Sasuke with disbelief. She was one of the few Neji and Sasuke fangirls that did not know about Sasuke and Tenten's relationship. "You have five seconds."

Kei began to play with her fingers behind her back, then decided to move before she got Sasuke angry. It was simple, to the fangirls. If you got Sasuke angry, he would tell Neji about it, and you'd have an even smaller chance to be with him. Same goes for the rest of his friends. But Tenten was an exception. "Thanks a lot, Sasuke," Tenten said, grabbing his hand. He 'hn'ed and followed her hand-in-hand. "Hey, you wouldn't mind if I walked home with Neji, would you?"

"Why?"

"I just need to ask him something, and he lives really close to me." A sly smile crossed her face when she saw the worried look on Sasuke's face. "Don't worry. Nothing is going to happen, besides a little making out and close touching."

"What?"

"I'm kidding!" she laughed.

* * *

After packing her things, she and Sasuke headed out to meet up with the rest of the group. Tenten didn't want to spend any time dawdling, so she said good-bye to everyone and grabbed Neji's hand. "I want to walk home with you," she whispered after seeing his confused expression. After a few moments of silence, Tenten noticed she was still holding his hand. She blushed and let go. The leaves danced around them slowly with the wind leading the dance. "Neji," Tenten said abruptly. He flinched at the way she said her name. It was as if she was breaking up with him, although they were never together. "I want to know why you've been shooting me those cold stares the whole day."

Neji glanced down at his twiddling thumbs, and stopped them when he realized he was acting like Hinata. "You told the Sand Siblings you were going out with Sasuke before you told me. Why?"

_I should have seen this question coming_, she told herself. "I...I told them because they saw Sasuke and I together. We were out on our first date after becoming boyfriend and girlfriend, and we happened to bump into them. Temari said they were on a mission, and were just getting ready to head back to Suna. So then, there we were, hand-in-hand. I couldn't think up an excuse that Temari would believe, so I had to tell them the truth. They didn't say anything after that, so I assumed it was a bad thing and just left. I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid of what you would think."

"You can tell me anything," he said sternly. Although he wouldn't admit it, deep down, it hurt him that Tenten would think that. Was he that bad? _I know I'm not the open type, but that doesn't mean I won't listen to her if she has something to say. **She's** the one who should open up more. But still. I'm disappointed that she would be afraid of what I would say. I wouldn't have said anything...to her face, I mean. I'd just go home and...I dunno. Pound my bed, break stuff, and ponder my jealousy that I would continue to deny. _"Promise next time that you'll tell me if something that big happens in your life."

"I promise." Tenten smiled. "So Neji, do _you_ like anyone?"

She giggled into her mouth and close her eyes. Imagining Neji with someone was sort of difficult. He didn't seem like the type to like anyone. Instead of hearing an answer, she heard a door shutting loudly. When she opened her eyes, she saw they were already at Neji's house. "I'll find out one day, Neji Hyuuga. Mark my words!" she joked. Tenten turned around and began heading to her own house. _I've only got a couple of hours before the movies._

* * *

(1) - As you can tell, I made that movie up. I was absolutely blank when the title came to me. My friend said something that made me laugh, and then I remembered my friend saying, "Damn hormones!" Randomness, is it not? So that's where the title came from. XP 

I assure you the next chapter will be better. Another pairing will be added. I'm not quite sure when I'll get it up, but I want to get it up by Sunday. And I know Kei had a really small part, but I assure you (I'm doing a lot of assuring ) she'll have a bigger part coming up. Oh yeah, and I just realized that my time dividers haven't been working. It's supposed to be a line of ' ' across the center of the fanfiction. So, I'm going to have to use that solid line just above my author note here. XO

Don't forget to review! I don't care if it's a flame or not.

Preview for next chapter:

"I...I like you, Tenten," Neji confessed. He wanted to look up to see the expression on her face, but he couldn't. His eyes were glued to the ground. "I've liked you for a while now."

Tenten felt her heart skip a few beats. She wanted to grab him and say she liked him for a long time too, but her legs wouldn't let her move. It was as if someone tied them together so she couldn't move. "It's too late for that, Neji! I'm already with someone."

"You've always said 'there's no such thing as too late.' Why should this situation be so different?"

"BECAUSE IT IS," she cried. Tears began to build up in her eyes, threatening to fall freely if she felt any more emotional stress.

Neji 'tch'ed and turned his head away, crossing his arms. He could have said anything at that time. 'I know you're with someone. I just wanted you to know.' Or, he could have said, 'I'm sorry.' He could have even walked away. But Neji Hyuuga, a well-known prodigy, did the stupidest thing any man could have done at that moment. "Stupid woman and her mood swings."

Tenten's eyes narrowed as she let out a low growl. This meant war.


	6. The Movies

What you need to know:

"As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough" - speaking

As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough - what's happening

_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough _- thinking

**As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough **- Inner Sakura (and only Inner Sakura)

"_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough"_ - Singing

_Text centered in the page with italics _- the song being sung by the artist

Summary:

Neji finds out Tenten is dating Sasuke. Hell breaks loose and disaster can't be far behind as new relationships form and old ones break. More pairings inside. Summary sucks. R&R!. Was 'Love Makes Life Hard.'

Official 'couples' so far:

Tenten X Sasuke.

Sakura X Lee

Love triangle(s) to far:

Ino X Shikamaru X Temari

Okay, here is the next chapter. I know it's a little late, and it might seem weird. I encourage you to review if you read. I've gotten 1173 hits, and only 11 review. What happened? That's an average of 2 reviews per chapter :'( (That's supposed to be a crying emotion)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters, to my dismay.

* * *

Chapter Five: The Movies

Tenten dropped her pencil and stretched her arms out, letting out at long yawn. _Why did they have to give us so much homework? I have a genjutsu test coming up, and a gazillion pounds of work! _She glanced at the clock for the umpteenth time in the past hour. It was 6:27. _Better get changed now, before the evilness of homework sucks me in its horrible void. I'd probably lose track of time and end up snapping out of it when the movie is already over. _

She stood up and walked over to her large walk-in closet. "What to wear, what to wear," she sang, digging through the clothes. Tenten pulled out a sleeveless pine green shirt with the words 'Heaven's Gift' written on it with white font and mini angel wings on either side of the phrase. "That looks nice enough. I don't think Ino will nag me about it, since she's the one who bought it for me. And black goes with anything, right?" She pulled out black jeans with the white outline of a flower on her right thigh. She placed it on, only to have it hanging low around her waist. To solve that problem, she grabbed a white belt with a white skull at the center and wrapped it around her waist.

Before she walked out, she grabbed a white sweater and flung it on, zipping it up halfway. "Just incase it's cold," she added, grabbing a bag as well.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tenten reached into her pocket and took her cell phone out as she grabbed her wallet. _Just be cool about it,_ she told herself as she dialed a phone number.

A deep voice at the other end answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Sasuke," Tenten greeted warmly. "Are you going to pick me up? But you don't have to if you don't want to. I mean, I can always just walk there myself, no problem!" _Smooth one, Tenten. So much for being cool about it. You sound like an idiot!_

"Depends, do you _want_ me to pick you up?" Sasuke responded.

Tenten frowned. "You can't answer back with a question."

"I think I just did," he answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "But sure, I'll pick you up. I just have to stop by somewhere before I pick you up. Just tell me what time you're going to be ready."

"Actually, I'm already ready, I just don't feel like leaving right now. How about," she looked at the clock, "6:47? Fifteen minutes from now."

"Sure. I'll see you then."

Tenten heard the dial tone as Sasuke hung up. She flipped her cell phone closed and stuffed it back in her pocket. The movie theater wasn't far from her house, so it wouldn't take long to get there.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tenten stood outside, leaning against her door and tapping her foot. She looked at her watch again. _He's late,_ she thought. It was 6:50. "Honestly, I don't understand where he could be. He's had eighteen minutes to do whatever he wants. I'm just going to leave him then." She pushed herself off of her door and began to make her way to the theaters.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Come on, Hinata. We're going to be late," Neji sighed, looking at his watch. "It's 6:51. If you don't hurry, Ino and Sakura are going to devour the rest of the self-esteem you have. They'll be calling you tardy and useless, and they'll never count on you again."

"I-I'm coming!" Hinata exclaimed, rushing past him to the open door, courtesy of Hanabi.

_Ino and Sakura were right,_ Neji thought sadly as he followed Hinata out. _You just have to shoot your mouth off about how nobody will trust her anymore, and she'll hurry up. It's the end of the world when you_ _know Ino and Sakura are right about something. I can't believe I'm beginning to count on those two, out of everyone on earth, to get a job done. _

"Neji, you might want to hurry!" Hinata said in a slightly mocking tone. "We don't want to be late for the movie!" With that, she skipped out, leaving Hanabi suppressing giggles with her hands.

"A little slow, aren't we, brother?" Hanabi sniggered.

Neji rolled his eyes and grabbed his jacket. "Shut up," he muttered as he walked out.

Both Hyuuga cousins began their short journey to the movie theaters. "Hey, isn't that Tenten?" Hinata inquired, pointing to a figure with two buns on its head in front of them. "Tenten! Tenten, is that you?" she asked, jogging a little faster.

The girl turned around, proving it was indeed Tenten. "Oh, hey, Hinata! Hey Neji!" she greeted, pausing so they could catch up.

"No, wait, I have to talk to you alone for a sec," Hinata whispered, grabbing Tenten's hand and speeding up a little so they were still ahead. "Look, I just had a weird dream."

"Spill."

A small blush appeared on Hinata's pale cheeks as she began to play with her fingers. "O-Okay," she stuttered. "See, I woke up in my dream, because I heard some knocking on my door. So when I invited them in, Hanabi stepped in and she told me to get ready for my date. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I still got changed and combed my hair. When the door bell rang, I went to get it, and it was---"

"Naruto?" Tenten cut in slyly.

Hinata shook her head. "No, it was Kiba." Tenten's jaw hit the ground. "What do you think it means?"

"Well, do you like Kiba?"

"He's nice..."

"So you like him."

"Oh, I don't know!" Hinata cried. "I've been crushing on Naruto for so long, now. I was really expecting him to be my date, and when Kiba appeared, I guess I felt sort of...strange."

The brunette smiled. "If Kiba makes a move on you, like asking you out or holding your hand tonight, I'd say 'go for it!'" She gave a thumbs up sign. "I wouldn't tell Neji, though, since he's overprotective of you. If he found out you and Kiba have something going on," she flipped her thumbs up upsidedown, "then that can't be good, right?"

"I have no problem with you and Kiba," a different voice joined in, "but you should watch yourself. He's a strange one, that Inuzuka." Both girls jumped and looked over at Neji, who was acting as though nothing was happening. "I've been standing here for a while, now. I heard all about how you like Naruto, and about your dream. It's really no secret that you like him, you know. You blush each time he gets close to you."

Tenten laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head as they neared the theaters. "Hey, guys! You were almost late," Temari scolded in a joking manner. "Two minutes until the movie. We just have to wait for Shikamaru. The lazy fool!"

"Hey, Gaara, I need to talk to you for a sec," Ino said as she pulled him to the side. "I heard that Shikamaru is going to make a move on Temari during the movies."

"Really?" Gaara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I'd keep an eye out if I was you," she said seriously. "You could use that third eye of yours to watch what they're doing!"

"Hmmm," he hummed as he walked back to the group.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," Shikamaru apologized as he lazily walked towards the group.

"Oh, I'm sure you are," Temari giggled as she gave him a nudge and grabbed his hand. Everyone walked into the theaters after purchasing their tickets. Sasuke walked up to Tenten, but continued to look forwards as he spoke.

"Why were you walking with Neji?"

"I was walking with Hinata, too," Tenten snapped back. "And I would have been walking with you if you were actually there. I waited for you until 6:50, and decided to leave. Then Hinata called me from behind, and we all decided to walk together. What I want to know, is why you weren't there when you promised."

"I told you, I had to stop by somewhere."

"But you didn't tell me where," Tenten retorted, anger and suspicion weaving its way into her tone. "Why are you keeping secrets from me?"

Sasuke had a hurt expression on his face as he took his seat next to Tenten. "I was just dropping off a letter for my brother, that's it. I didn't think it was such a big deal. I just had to wait around because the guy wasn't at his house. I'm sorry."

He took Tenten's hand. "Ugh, I forgive you," she gave in.

Everyone else took their seat. The order went like this: Kankuro, Shikamaru, Temari, Gaara, Ino, Sakura, Lee, Naruto, Kiba, Hinata, Tenten, Sasuke, Neji, Choji, then Shino. Gaara had told Kankuro about what Ino told him, so both decided to keep a close eye on their sister. Ino wanted to keep a close eye on them as well. Sakura and Lee sat together since they were together. Naruto sat between Kiba and Lee because, well, together, they were the loudest people in the group, not including Ino. They would probably have a good laugh at the movie. Hinata sat beside Kiba because Tenten persuaded her to. Tenten sat beside Sasuke because they went out. Choji and Shino decided to sit at the other end, away from the loud people at the other end. They also wanted a clear exit if something went wrong.

"Daisan no Me," Gaara muttered as he covered one of his eyes with his fingers. In his other palm, an eye materialized out of small particles. After it was solid, it flew above Temari and Shikamaru and went between them, so it would not grab attention from little children or adults that would be yelling, "There's a floating eye!" That would definately give his plan away.

He leaned forwards and looked at Kankuro, who nodded back. Gaara leaned back against his seat and got ready for the movie to begin. Ino leaned to the right and whispered, "You don't have to get ready right now. Nothing is going to happen until half of the movie is done. Everyone knows that!"

Gaara rolled his eyes. If he had his way, he would have crushed Ino's bones. _She's your source for information about your sister and that lazyass, though,_ he reasoned with himself. _What would mother do? _"Whatever," he muttered. "You never know."

Tenten flinched when she recalled what Temari said about the movie. _How ironic, _she thought. _Except it's the other way around in my life...well, sort of. I LIKED Neji, but now I'm with Sasuke. I highly doubt he likes me...that ice cube. But isn't that why I like him? Ugh, how messed up. Maybe I'll find some answers of what to do in this movie. I bet Neji would say I'm a loser for getting information from a movie._

_I need to find answers in this movie!_ Neji thought with determination. If only they knew what the other was thinking. (A/N: -shakes head-) He looked out of the corner of his eye at Sasuke with eagle-like eyes. _I'm watching you, Uchiha. Make any moves and you'll wake up...no, wait. I can't make a move. Well, I'm gonna do something really bad. Okay, wait, that sounded nasty. _"Damn it."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, no, nothing," Neji replied dryly, making sure he would give Sasuke a glare every so often.

The movie started with a group of teenagers breaking apart, waving good-byes at each other. Two people, however, walked home together. One was a boy. He was handsome, with ruffled black hair and dulled yellow highlights every now and then. He wore a white short-sleeved uniform shirt and black slightly baggy pants with a pocket on both sides. The other one was a girl. She had short orange hair with a large group of strands of hair framing her face. The rest of her hair was shorter than the framed hair. She wore a white sailor-like shirt with black and yellow patterns, and a white skirt with black knee-high socks and black dress shoes. Everyone assumed that was their uniform. "Hey, Akira, I wanted to ask you something," the boy said suddenly.

Akira raised an eyebrow in interest. "What is it, Eiji?" She ran a hand through her autumn hair and smiled.

He continued to face forwards with a serious expression on his face. "I saw you with Ryota yesterday. I heard you're going out with him. Is that true?"

Akira's smile flipped upsidedown as her orange eyes peered at him. "Yes, why?"

"Because I didn't think you'd date him. I mean, both of you are my best friends and I'velikedyouforalongtime," he stated, speeding up the last part. His face turned as red as a tomato as he shoved his fists into his pockets violently. "I blew it," he narrated, his voice coming from somewhere else besides the scenes (A/N: You know, when people narrate what happens in movies sometimes from their point of view?)

Contrary to his belief, she responded, "I've liked you for a long time too, Eiji. But I'm in a relationship at the moment, and I can't cheat on Ryota. I hope you understand." She smiled grimly as she looked at him once more, before opening the door to her house and shutting it behind him.

Eiji continued to stare at the door, as if expecting her to pop out and say it was all a joke, but she didn't. Instead, he stubbornly turned around and walked home.

Neji stared at the screen and began taking mental notes. _If I tell her, I might end up like that loser: dumped, and stubborn. _He glanced over at Tenten._ But surely Tenten would be understanding. I mean, she wouldn't murder me for proclaiming my feelings for her when she's in a relationship. The chances of her seeing me as more of a friend is already small. _He looked at the screen again to see the boy already walking to school the next day in the same clothing.

He approached another girl, who looked as though her knees were going to give in from the shock, and said, "Hey, Kaede, I was wondering if you want to go somewhere after school."

The girl had long brown hair tied in a low ponytail that rested on her shoulder and puffy bangs. She had wide hazel eyes that stared at the boy with admiration. "O-Of course!" she squealed. "Where do you want to go? What do you want to do?"

Neji nodded and hummed with understanding. _Mental Note Number One: If Tenten doesn't dump Sasuke, go after a desperate girl. But what girl would be desperate?_ he asked himself, forgetting the fact that he had a fanclub filled with desperate girls at his own high school. _Kei would agree to go on a date with me. I'll ask her if all else fails. _

Tenten studied the content of what she knew at the moment carefully. _Okay, so Akira's in a relationship, and Eiji, her friend, confessed his love to her, and she said no. So, if anyone says anything to me, I'll just shoot them down. _She hopefully turned to Neji, who she saw clearly because Sasuke had left for the washroom. When Neji turned to look at her, she blushed and snapped her head back to the movie. _Yeah right. Neji would never admit he likes you. _

As the movie continued, Tenten and Neji seemed to be the only ones paying close attention. As Ino estimated, about half way through the movie, Shikamaru had made his move. He pretended to yawn, stretching his arms out, then placing his left arm along the headrest behind Temari. She smiled and lay her head on his shoulder, causing both to blush deeply. Gaara's third eye, and Kankuro's own two eyes, began widening as they watched the two, the intent of murder in the three eyes. Shikamaru cleared his throat loudly and retreated to just holding her hand, causing Temari to frown with disappointment. Ino snickered when she saw this.

Sakura kept playing with her hair, sending Lee flirtatious winks every time he turned to face her. Lee shifted his weight uncomfortably when she did this. Perhaps getting this close to Sakura wasn't like it was in his imagination? He shook his head and formed a fist, bringing it in front of him. _No! I must not think that about my beautiful girlfriend, Sakura! _

Hinata kept stealing glances at Kiba, who would occasionally turn to her to see if she was alright. Hinata would nod and turn about to the movie, tightening her fists with determination. Naruto noticed this, and began to steal glances at Hinata as she stole glances at Kiba. _Why is Hinata always looking at Kiba? _he thought jealously. Choji and Shino merely watched the movie and munched on popcorn and candy. (A/N: And yes, Sasuke did come back from the bathroom already.)

Back to the almost finished movie, and its interested viewers. Akira was extremely angry at Eiji for dating a fangirl, that has caused nothing but trouble for her. Meanwhile, Eiji was extremely mad that Akira dared to order him around relationship-wise, while she went and dated his best friend without asking if it was alright. Both became very angry at each other. Then Ryota dumped Akira because he suspected she was cheating on him with Eiji, even though she begged him to listen to the truth. After a few days, Akira received a note in her locker, saying she should meet him or her at the park at noon on Saturday. _Okay, review mental notes,_ Neji told himself.

_Mental Note Number One: Date Kei if Tenten doesn't dump Sasuke. _

_Mental Note Number Two: When Tenten asks, come up with a smartass comment like, "Why do you suddenly think you can order me around? I can date who I want, if you can."_

_Mental Note Number Three: Keep seeing her to make Sasuke think we're dating behind his back._

_Mental Note Number Four: Comfort her if/when Sasuke dumps her._

_Mental Note Number Five: Leave a note in her locker._

Nobody knew it was the boy, yet, but Neji, being Neji, was just able to tell. _But that whole plan seems a little harsh. Maybe I'll just stick to Notes One, Two, and Four. _He nodded with content, knowing his decision wasn't too mean.

_Okay, review time! _Tenten thought.

_Mental Note Number One: If anyone admits his or her---but hopefully his---feelings to me, shoot him or her down._

_Mental Note Number Two: If that person randomly decides to date someone I hate, insist that he or she shouldn't._

_Mental Note Number Three: Screw him over if he doesn't listen (not in the gross way). Forget the 'him or her'. I'm certain no girl is going to come up to me and confess she likes me._

_Mental Note Number Four: Don't hang out with him a lot, or I'll get dumped._

_Mental Note Number Five: Don't follow an anonymous note found in my locker._

She, too, nodded with content. Tenten scooted as close to Sasuke as she could and lay her head on his shoulder. In response, he did what Shikamaru could not do for long. Neji saw this and growled.

It was nearing the end of the movie. Akira was sitting on a swing in the rain, waiting for whoever left her the note to appear. She looked at the ground as a tear subltly strolled down her cheek. "Whoever stood me up must have just thought of this as a prank to make me even happier than I already am," she scowled sarcastically.

"I wouldn't say that," a deep, mysterious voice said from behind her and out of the camera picture. Akira stood up and whipped around to see...gasp! Believe it or not, it was Eiji!

"Eiji!" she exclaimed with disbelief.

"She's probably the only one who didn't see this coming," Shino said sadly. Choji hummed with agreement as he shoveled pounds of popcorn into his mouth.

"I'm sorry," Eiji whispered as he leaned in, his face closing in on hers. Neji expected her to back away and slap him across the face, but instead, she leaned in as well. Both closed their eyes and----

"Oh, god!" Neji exclaimed with horror, twitching at the sight of the two teens making out before him. The girls all let out a lovesick sigh, as Naruto and Kiba began pointing at their opened mouths, releasing vomiting sounds as they did. _Do **not** do that, Neji, _he ordered.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone stepped outside and stretched their arms. "Good movie choice, Temari," Sakura said in a lovesick tone. Then she frowned. "Aw man, it's raining!" She looked up at the sky, and sure enough, rain drops splattered onto her face.

"Thanks," Temari said with fake cheer, still disappointed that Shikamaru had backed-off. "I'd better be going, now. I still have a lot of homework to do, and I've gotta do volunteer work. Plus Gaara and Kankuro have doctor and dentist appointments." She gave Shikamaru a quick peck on the cheek and walked off, with Gaara and Kankuro slowly following behind her.

"Hinata, will you be coming back with me?" Neji asked. He had to get Hinata out of the way if he wanted to admit his feelings to Tenten alone.

She shook her head. "Actually," she looked around nervously, "I'm going on a date with K-Kiba."

Everyone, especially Naruto, gasped loudly. "Y-You're going out with K-Kiba?" Naruto repeated enviously.

Hinata nodded as Kiba defensively took her hand. "Come on, Hinata. Let's go get a late dinner."

Hinata nodded again and she and Kiba walked off, leaving everyone with an extremely pissed Naruto. Wanting to change the subject, Sasuke turned to Tenten. "Want me to walk you home?" He volunteered. "To make it up for earlier?"

"Actually," Neji said, almost immediately stepping in, "I want to walk Tenten home. I have something to speak to her about. Privately," he said, adding the last word in very sternly.

"But---"

"It's fine, Sasuke," Tenten interupted. "Neji lives closer to me anyways. I'll see you later." Sasuke gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before she turned and began walking away with Neji.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Their walk home was unusually silent. "Look, Tenten," Neji said abruptly, wanting to break the silence, "I need to tell you something." _Mental Note Number One! _

"Well, spit it out!" Tenten chirped playfully.

He paused. _I'll just go into the subject slowly, she won't see it coming. Everything we talk about will just merge into the subject._ "I...I like you, Tenten," Neji confessed. He wanted to look up to see the expression on her face, but he couldn't. His eyes were glued to the ground. "I've liked you for a while now." _Mental Note Number One: Complete._

Tenten felt her heart skip a few beats. She wanted to grab him and say she liked him for a long time too, but her legs wouldn't let her move. It was as if someone tied them together so she couldn't move. "It's too late for that, Neji! I'm already with someone."

"You've always said 'there's no such thing as too late.' Why should this situation be so different?"

"BECAUSE IT IS," she cried. Tears began to build up in her eyes, threatening to fall freely if she felt any more emotional stress.

Neji 'tch'ed and turned his head away, crossing his arms. He could have said anything at that time. 'I know you're with someone. I just wanted you to know.' Or, he could have said, 'I'm sorry.' He could have even walked away. But Neji Hyuuga, a well-known prodigy, did the stupidest thing any man could have done at that moment. "Stupid woman and her mood swings."

Tenten's eyes narrowed as she let out a low growl. This meant war. "You're saying this to me because you got some advice from a stupid movie? You couldn't think of anything yourself?"

"Whatever," he mumbled as he began to walk away. _So much for not being a stubborn loser._

Tenten, however, had a different idea for him. He was not going to walk away from her. Instead, she grabbed his shoulders, spun him around, and slapped him as hard as she could across the face. He let out a short hiss from the stinging pain on his cheek. "I'm not letting you have the last word. I HATE YOU NEJI HYUUGA, AND I'M NEVER TALKING TO YOU AGAIN!" With that, she ran off in the rain, with it pounding on her head as she did. "ASSHOLE," she screeched even louder so he was sure to hear it.

Sure enough, he did. He 'tch'ed again and turned around, definately heading home.

* * *

Okay, this is probably my worst chapter. I know it is. I blanked out so much in this, and it's later than I thought it would be. I promise (see, no assuring) that the next chapter will be better than this. Unless you actually thought this chapter was good O.o Then that would be really nice!

More Naruto X Hinata X Kiba triangle. I'll update when I've received at least 5 review. **5 REVIEWS PEOPLE! COME ON!!!**

Preview for next chapter:

Tenten continued to run until she neared her house. She began to slow down as she saw someone running out her door. The person was dressed in completely black, with her hair hid under a black tuque. "Who are you, and why were you in my house?" Tenten barked angrily at the intrusion of her privacy. "ANSWER ME!"

The figure continued to run away. By the way its body was shaped under the black 'ninja' suit, Tenten immediately knew it was a girl. She ran towards the speeding figure, but was unable to stop it. The only thing she was was---" Green eyes?" Tenten stopped moving and stood in one stop, thinking of who had green eyes, and had enough time to get to her house. _Kei!_

She rushed into her house and dropped her bag to the floor. Her house was ransacked. Everything was upsidedown, and everything with value was taken.

End of Preview

I know the preview doesn't seem very interesting, but trust me. The chapter gets better, because as you know, Neji is going to ask Kei out, and Tenten will find out. Kei doesn't have a very good relationship with Tenten, so who knows what will happen? I do! -evil laughter-

Oh, well, anyways, **5 REVIEWS! **

Thanks everyone!


	7. The Past, The Present, and the Future?

What you need to know:

"As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough" - speaking

As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough - what's happening

_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough _- thinking

**As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough **- Inner Sakura (and I guess Inner Neji in the later conversation)

"_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough"_ - Singing

_Text centered in the page with italics _- the song being sung by the artist

Summary:

Neji finds out Tenten is dating Sasuke. Hell breaks loose and disaster can't be far behind as new relationships form and old ones break. More pairings inside. Summary sucks. R&R!. Was 'Love Makes Life Hard.'

Official 'couples' so far:

Tenten X Sasuke.

Sakura X Lee

Hinata X Kiba

Love triangle(s) to far:

Ino X Shikamaru X Temari

Here's the chapter. It didn't turn out the way I wanted to, but I really wanted to get something up.

**NOTE**: There are some things in this chapter that will be addressed again, and they may be small details. You may not be able to notice it when you first read it, and you might be like 'what the heck?', but it'll all make sense soon. So don't skip some things there, because you might miss an important part, and when the time comes, you'll have no idea what's going on.

**ANOTHER NOTE: **Please check my profile page, under the updates section, to see when I plan on updating again. I will try as soon as I can, but sometimes things come up (like tests, which I'm having a lot of now), which will delay. The section will be near the top, so it's easy to find.

And I'm so glad more people reviewed! 18 reviews at the moment!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters, to my dismay.

* * *

Chapter Seven: The Past, The Present, and the Future?

Tenten continued to run until she neared her house. She began to slow down as she saw someone running out her door. The person was dressed in completely black, with her hair hid under a black tuque. "Who are you, and why were you in my house?" Tenten barked angrily at the intrusion of her privacy. "ANSWER ME!"

The figure continued to run away. By the way its body was shaped under the black 'ninja' suit, Tenten immediately knew it was a girl. She ran towards the speeding figure, but was unable to stop it. The only thing she was was---" Green eyes?" Tenten stopped moving and stood in one stop, thinking of who had green eyes, and had enough time to get to her house. _Kei!_

She rushed into her house and dropped her bag to the floor. Her house was ransacked. Everything was upsidedown, and everything with value was taken. Her katana with a dragon at the handle was missing, as well as the diamond kunai Neji had forged himself for her previous birthday present. A few of her priceless, ancient Chinese vases were also gone. Tenten rushed upstairs. Her heart shattered when she saw torn papers on the floor. Not just any papers, though. Those were photos of her and her friends, saved over the years. Even the only photo of her and her parents was mercilessly ripped to pieces. Tenten fell to her knees and picked up one piece. Even if she was to glue or tape the pieces together, which would take a long time, it wouldn't work because whoever did this, took the time to perfectly black her out of every photo.

Tenten ran downstairs, grabbed her purse, then raced outside, unable to look at the sight anymore. All of her memories were gone. The only picture of her parents was gone. They had died when Tenten was very young, so she had very few memories of them. Plus her parents were working a lot, so the caretaker took care of her for most of her life. Now the picture wasn't there. Now, they would fade from her memories. She'd never remember what they looked like, in time. Never.

_I can't go to Sasuke's, because his brother is there,_ she thought, striking him off of her mental list. _And I can't go to Neji's, because he's being a selfish, cold-hearted bastard. So I'll go to Lee's. At least he's still my friend. _They had been friends for a long time. Since kindergarten. When Tenten's parents died when she was seven, they all had a sleepover at Lee's house, since Neji did not think it was a good idea for a girl to be crying loudly at three in the morning. In short, he did not want them to be 'disturbed'. Lee's father was in the way when a criminal went to shoot the police, and got shot in the head instead. He died instantly. Tenten's parents died very early in the morning. Her mom was working a late shift at the hospital that night, so her father decided to pick her up around one. A few teenagers thought it would be fun to speed as fast as they could through the empty streets for as long as they could, not counting on the couple to be on the road. Both died instantly.

**FLASHBACK (to the day before her parents death)**

Tenten, seven years old, sat at the edge of her bed, swinging her legs back and forth together. Her hair was up in the usual two buns. "Today is the day!" she squealed with excitement as she pushed herself off of her bed. "Today is the day mommy and daddy are coming home!" Her parents had gone away for a business trip. Her mom had left to another country, because her special skills were needed for a surgery, and she was the closest one with those abilities. Her father had left to a different country to help something with a client. He worked in a high position of an important electronics company. He had to aide a client, whose computer wasn't functioning properly. They were both returning that day, and Tenten was pumped.

She ran down the stairs and slid on the glossy wooden floor into the kitchen. "Aki! Aki, are mommy and daddy back yet?"

Akiko, or Aki, as Tenten called her, shook her head and smiled. "Not yet, Tenten. They aren't here yet." Aki, Tenten's maid, was washing the dishes in a circular motion. She wore faded blue jeans and a yellow spaghetti strap shirt. She was always a cheerful and optimistic person, no matther what the situation was. That was the reason Tenten's mother and father chose Aki to be Tenten's caretaker.

"Okay, but tell me when they get here, 'kay?" Tenten asked with puppy dog eyes and her hands clasped together in a begging manner.

Aki giggled and placed the dry dishes in a cupboard. "I promise."

**THE NEXT DAY**

Tenten woke up with a start. She had stayed up until ten o'clock the night before, which to her, was quite late, considering she normally went to sleep at eight or even nine sometimes. Her parents did not arrive. Tenten walked down gloomily and entered the kitchen. "Aki, did they come?"

Aki smiled happily and placed a full plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and two pieces of french toast before the small girl. "As a matter of fact, they arrived only minutes after you fell asleep!"

Tenten gasped joyously and began looking around wildly. "Where are they?"

"Your mother was called to work at midnight, so she went to the hospital. Your father left here around twelve fifty to pick her up. They probably stopped by somewhere to see a few friends. I'm sure they'll be here when you get home from school." Tenten scrunched up her face like she just had some disgusting medicine, sad she would have to wait. Tenten was never the patient type. "Oh, that reminds me," Aki chirped, "it's Picture Day at school today, isn't it? How about you put your hair down, and I'll fix it nicely?"

Tenten nodded eagerly, gobbled up her breakfast in a few bites, and rushed upstairs, chewing the food on the way.

When Aki was done, Tenten twirled around before her full length mirror. Her hair cascaded down freely, curling a little at the end, and waving like ocean waves. She wore a red ribbon in place of a headband, that did not move her bangs, with the bow tied to the side. She had a red chinese shirt (A/N: Exactly like the one she wears in the anime before the timeskip, only the pink part is red, and the red part is pink) and a white skirt that ended a little above her knees. Her black dress shoes tapped against the wooden stairs as she ran down with her backpack bouncing on her back. "I'll be back after school, waiting for mommy and daddy!"

"Be careful," Aki warned.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

After having her photo taken, Tenten, Neji, and Lee walked back to their classroom. They took their seats, and began to listen to their teacher, Maito Gai, preach about how the flames of their youth are still burning brightly. Ten minutes later, there was a strong knocking at the door. Two men in tuxedos walked in, flashed police identification cards, and turned to the poor girl. "Tenten, please come with us. We need to tell you something."

Tenten jumped from her seat and skipped outside, followed by the closing door. Neji subtly turned over his shoulder, while Lee blatantly span in his seat and faced the door, as if expecting it to do a spectacular trick. A couple seconds later, Tenten came running through the room, throwing herself at Gai. She hugged his legs and cried. He picked her up in his arms and patted her back as she cried into his shoulder. "Shhh, it's okay, Tenten." His eyes turned to the two men, who showed no emotion whatsoever. "What did you say or do to her?" he asked sternly.

"Her parents are dead," one said simply, pushing his sunglasses up casually.

Tenten cried even louder. Neji and Lee's eyes widened from shock. The rest of the class began murmuring about the sudden news. "How could you say that so casually?" Gai snapped angrily.

The other man decided to speak. "This happens all the time."

**------------------------------------------------------------------------**

At the end of school, Neji and Lee immediately rushed to Tenten's side. "We should all have a sleepover at my house," Lee suggested. "It will take your mind off of being lonely if you have us."

"You always will," Neji reassured, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Tenten sniffed up a sob and nodded, blinking rapidly in hopes that the newly formed tears would disappear. "T-Thank you so much. I l-love you guys!"

**END OF FLASHBACK**

After what seemed like an eternity, Tenten finally reached Lee's house. He lived on the other side of town, so it took a lot out of her. She knocked on his door. "Lee?" she asked, her voice cracking. _Please, don't be on a date with Sakura! _she pleaded desperately. No answer. She began pounding her fists on his door loudly, screaming, "LEE? LEE, I NEED YOU TO OPEN THE DOOR. PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU! LEE!" No answer again. Her fists slid down the wet door as her legs collapsed under her weight. Tenten placed her forehead on the wooden door and began to cry with frustration. _Everything is going wrong in my life! Even since I've started dating Sasuke. Why is it, that when I finally decide to get together with someone, everything else goes wrong? Why me? _Her eyelids felt heavy with exhaustion as she leaned her weight against the door. Before falling asleep, she felt her head fall past the door, and heard her name begin called out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tenten's eyes cracked open to meet a light emerald green roof. Her body shot up as she frantically looked around to find out where she was. Her neck snapped in the direction of the opening door, to reveal Lee with a tray. A bowl of cereal and a cup of hot chocolate was on it. "Good morning, Tenten," he greeted cheerfully.

"Lee," she breathed softly.

He handed her the tray. She muttered a 'thanks' and ate her breakfast in silence. Nobody spoke...until Lee, being Lee, broke the silence. As usual. "Tenten," he said seriously, which was a drastic change in character, "what is wrong?"

"I don't know what you mean," she responded quietly, clanking her spoon against the bowl.

Lee's eyebrows arched down, his eyes staring at her. She fidgeted in her spot uncomfortably. "I heard you screaming my name last night, found you at my door unconcious, and saw your face had recent tear stains on your face. I know there is something wrong, Tenten. You know you can tell me." He paused, then continued, "But I do have one question: Why did you come to my house? Neji lives much closer to you, although I am flattered that you would come all the way here because you trust me that much."

"That's the point," she said bitterly. "Neji is being such a jerk." She explained everything about how Neji confessed his love to her last night, and how someone snuck into her house and ruined everything. Lee was listening intently, nodding every so often so Tenten would know he was listening. "That's why I didn't go to his house! That's why I was crying as I ran to your house! THAT'S WHY MY MIND IS SCREWED UP!" Tears began to block her vision, dripping into her empty cereal bowl.

Lee was silent, as he digested everything Tenten had blurted out. Finally, he stood up, carefully took the tray from her, and walked to the door. "I am going to cancel my date with Sakura," he said.

"You don't have to," Tenten replied. "I'll just stay here. I need some thinking time, anyways."

"I want to help you, Tenten," Lee insisted earnestly. "Friendship matters more to me than any life partner." He walked out, dropped the tray off in the sink, then re-entered the room moments later. "So, Neji has finally admitted his feelings for you," he said, recalling one of the many things Tenten previously said. "He has liked you for a while, now."

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "He told you?"

Lee nodded and continued, "But he said he did not want to ruin the friendship between you."

"So he decided to ruin the relationship between Sasuke and I?" she barked. Lee was taken back, his eyes widening with shock. Tenten muttered an apology. "I'm just so confused. I did like Neji, too, but now I'm with Sasuke. So, we can only be friends. Unless I break up with Sasuke, but then that would just be...ARG! I'm just so confused! I don't know what to do."

"Love is built on the foundation of friendship," Lee mused out loud, catching Tenten's attention. "Without friendship, the tower of love will crumble." After this, he turned to face Tenten again with a peaceful smile. "Were you friends with Sasuke before you two got together?"

Tenten meditated on this question. _Sasuke and I barely knew each other. Well, no, that's not true. We spent time together, but it was always with the rest of the group, or at least part of it. Except for that time when he and I were partners for a history project. I guess that's when it started, hm? _She stared at the blank ceiling. Sasuke's and Neji's faces popped into her head as she thought about the question even more. "I guess we were," she responded dubiously. "I mean, we hung out together in a group, and we were partners with a project. So, yeah, we were friends." Then she paused. "Wait, are you telling me I should break up with Sasuke and get together with Neji? Because he's a jerk!"

Lee shook his head. "I am not telling you to do anything. I agree, Neji was being a jerk when he said that. And Sasuke, I am sure, would not say anything like that." He looked up at the ceiling, as if reading his well thought out answers off of it. "Do whatever you want, but do not rush it. Rushed results are the worst."

"Thanks, a lot, Lee. I'm really glad we're friends."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neji lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't move since he woke up. He tossed and turned in the sheets a few times, but didn't get out of bed. He skipped breakfast, and ignored Hiashi's loud commands, Hinata's quiet insisting, and Hanabi's immature insults. He could see right through Hanabi. She wanted Neji to get angry, so he would chase her out and reach the kitchen, where Hiashi would lecture him about tardiness. Little did everyone in the Hyuuga household know, there was an arguement going on in the prodigy's head.

**Other Neji 1: **Man, Tenten seemed really angry last night.

**Other Neji 2: **But you were cruel, Neji. The things you said weren't necessary.

**Real Neji: **Hn.

**Other Neji 2: **So, are you going to ask Kei out?

**Real Neji: **Should I?

**Other Neji 1: **Hell yeah, make that girl beg for you back.

**Other Neji 2: **She never had him. But she has his heart.

**Real Neji: **Shut up and answer my question.

**Other Neji 1: **We can't do both at the same time, stupid.

**Real Neji: **You're me.

**Other Neji 1: **Shut up!

**Other Neji 2: **ANYWAYS, I don't think you should ask Kei out. Tenten will get really mad.

**Other Neji 1: **...that's the point, stupid.

**Real Neji: **I'm gonna do it.

**Other Neji 1: **Ewwww, didn't want to hear that.

**Real Neji: **You pervert, I didn't mean that. I meant I'm going to ask Kei out.

**Other Neji 2: **You're going to regret it.

**Real Neji:** Hn.

**Other Neji 2: **The least you could do is eat breakfast now.

**Other Neji 1: **The least he could do is nothing.

**Other Neji 2: **Son of a b----

Neji cut off the inner conversation before it got ugly. Other Neji Number One was supposed to be the bad example, which Other Neji Number Two was the good one. Devil and angel, if you will. But now the angel was swearing at the devil? _Creepy,_ Neji thought to himself, and only himself, since his inners were chased away.

"Neji," Hanabi's voice pleaded from behind the door. "I want to go to Moegi's, but father won't take me, and Hinata is busy. Please come out and take me!"

Neji opened his mouth to say no, but stopped when he heard his stomach grumble. _Breakfast isn't a bad idea_. He pushed himself off of the bed and opened the door. "I'm having breakfast first," he mumbled as he walked past her. Hanabi cheerfully skipped behind him, following him into the kitchen, where Hiashi and Hinata sat.

"Pay up," Hanabi sang as she stuck her open hand out. Hiashi let out a low growl, and Hinata sighed with defeat, as both handed the young girl a five dollar bill.

"You bet on who could get me out?" Neji asked with disbelief. Sure, he could see Hanabi making that proposal, but he could not see the 'respectable' Hiashi and the shy Hinata agreeing to it. "Honestly, I am quite disappointed in both of you," he said, directing his comment at the two losers. "But I can see Hanabi doing this."

The young girl frowned, but fanned herself with the ten dollars. "Whatever," she said nonchalantly as she walked out. "By the way, I do need you to take me to Moegi's."

"Like I'm going to take you after you---"

"Neji," Hiashi interupted in a booming, commanding voice.

"I'd love to take you, Hanabi," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he grabbed his coat and walked out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What do you mean you're canceling the date?" Sakura asked Lee on the phone..

Lee paused in thought. _Should I tell her I need to stay with Tenten? No. _"I...I am not feeling quite well," he lied, faking a realistic cough. "I am very sorry. See you on monday?"

Sakura frowned. "Yeah, of course," she replied halfheartedly. She hung up and stared at the phone for a few more seconds, expecting Lee to call back and say it was a joke. _Is he really sick? Or is he just faking it? _After realizing the phone wouldn't ring anymore, she walked away, grabbed her bag, and headed out to go shopping.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday went by quickly. Tenten and Lee barely spoke, since Lee knew Tenten needed some quiet time, but also needed someone to be there with her. Neji had another meeting with the other two Inner Nejis, which was not very successful. Shikamaru went out to visit Ino at her house. Her parents were both out on vacation, and they trusted Shikamaru with a key to the house since they knew he wouldn't do anything bad to their daughter. Ino feared that fact. He had a key, and there was nothing she could do. He welcomed himself in and knocked on her bedroom door, only to hear a frustrated scream, ordering him to get out. He sat down and leaned against the wall, next to her door for a little longer, but she did not go out, knowing he was still waiting. Hinata went out on another date with Kiba to Ichiraku, while Naruto stayed home, complaining on the phone to Sasuke about how Kiba wasn't her type.

Tenten borrowed some of Lee's clothing, since she did not want to go back to her house yet. She wore a baggy black shirt that said 'hard work pays off' and olive green cargo pants. She also borrowed another school bag from Lee, since she left hers at her house. It was empty, though, except for a few pencils, pens, and whiteout. She concluded her homework was shredded up as well because it wasn't on her desk. They neared school, and Tenten decided to finally speak. "Thanks a lot for staying with me, Lee."

"No problem," Lee replied happily. "I already told you, friendship means more to me than some stupid high school crush, even if it is my precious cherryblossom, Sakura Haruno." He stared forwards into nothing, a lovesick look in his eyes.

"Your actions contradict your words," she joked as they pushed the doors open.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neji arrived earlier than he usual did, wanting to avoid meeting Tenten on the way to school. He didn't know that she wasn't there. He walked up to Kei, who was quietly sitting at her desk. "Hey," he greeted casually.

Kei didn't look up at him, even when he took the empty seat beside her. Instead, she turned her head away so he couldn't see her face. "If you're here to tell me to stay away, then don't bother," she said quickly. "Even my dog is giving me pity looks, wondering why I still like you. I'll just admire from afar, if you want. Just don't say anything hurtful."

"What?" Neji thought out loud. "No, I wasn't going to say anything like that. I was going to ask you---" _Do I really want to do this? _"---if you want to go out with me some time."

Kei whipped around to see Neji's unmoved face. "Really? Are you serious? Nobody put you up to this?" Neji shook his head. Kei's smile stretched across her face as she threw her arms around him and brought him into an embrace. "I can't believe you're actually asking me out! This is a dream come true!" _She was right, it would work. Beguiling. _

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tenten slammed her locker closed after placing her bag in it, and brought the small supplies she had to her desk. Lee walked beside her. "So, Lee, I was just wondering. What did Sakura say about---" Tenten discontinued her sentence when she saw Lee stop moving. His eyes were fixed on something, showing her was no longer listening to what she had to say. Tenten felt a tight knot in her stomach. _Do I want to look? _Curiousity killed the cat, and it might as well have killed her. Because Tenten looked in the direction Lee was staring at. "Neji...and Kei?" she choked out with disbelief.

Neji and Kei turned their heads so they saw the two friends staring at them. Kei immediately let go of Neji and turned her body straight forwards so she was facing Tenten. "Tenten," Lee said soothingly, "calm down."

"What are you two doing?" Tenten inquired, trying to keep her anger low.

Kei opened her mouth to brag the news, but Neji beat her to it, much to her surprise. "I asked Kei out on a date, and she said yes."

Tenten felt like someone had shot a cannonball at her stomach. What a low blow. Her best friend was going out with her worst enemy. And she would have to deal with it, no matter what, because she, Neji, and Kei, all had the same homeroom, and classes.

* * *

Well, there it was. I know I promised something very interesting, but I absolutely positively swear something interesting will be happening in the next three chapters. XP

Anyways, I'd like **10 REVIEWS **this time. Twelve people have this story on alerts, so I'm sure I'll be able to get the ten I need. I'd be very grateful if all of you reviewed Maybe I'm being a little greedy with reviews, but they inspire me. If I don't get many reviews, I notice that my writing suffers, because I don't think anybody likes it. **TEN REVIEWS. **Thanks a lot!

I'll be able to update sooner, hopefully, because Easter is coming up! I have Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off. I'll try my best to get the chapter up by friday (even if it means staying up later than I'm supposed to XO). Thank God for being Catholic!

Preview for next chapter:

Naruto grabbed Neji's hand, who grabbed Shikamaru, who complained about how something troublesome was about to happen. Naruto stopped dragging his friends when they rounded a corner to a secluded dumpster behind the school. "Everything is messed up!" he cried.

"Damn, you're a quick one," Shikamaru exclaimed, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Screw you," Naruto barked.

Neji raised an eyebrow and let out a low, long whistle. "Somebody's PMSing," he joked.

Naruto stomped his right foot on the ground like a temperamental five year old wanting cookies before dinner. "Everything is screwed, I'm telling you! Neji, you're supposed to be with Tenten if you're with anyone. Shikamaru, you're screwing around with Temari, while Ino is crying her heart out! And _I'm _supposed to be with Hinata, not Kiba! Sasuke knows we all claimed who which person gets a long time ago, so why did he make a move on Tenten? He's supposed to be with Sakura!"

"Because I can," a deep voice said. The three boys spun around to come face-to-face with a figure materializing from the shadows casted by the extended roof.

"S-Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed, acting as though he wasn't just talking about him behind his back. He rubbed the back of his head nervously, hoping to think of a good excuse. _Come on, Naruto, think! _"Hey, Sasuke 'ol buddy 'ol pal!"

_Excellent excuse, einstein, _Shikamaru and Neji thought at the same time.

"Well," Naruto continued with his awesome cover-up, "this is awkward, huh? But it's not what you think!"


	8. My Friend

What you need to know:

"As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough" - speaking

As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough - what's happening

_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough _- thinking

**As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough **- Inner Sakura (and I guess Inner Neji in the later conversation)

"_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough"_ - Singing

_Text centered in the page with italics _- the song being sung by the artist

Summary:

Neji finds out Tenten is dating Sasuke. Hell breaks loose and disaster can't be far behind as new relationships form and old ones break. More pairings inside. Summary sucks. R&R!. Was 'Love Makes Life Hard.'

Official 'couples' so far:

Tenten X Sasuke

Sakura X Lee

Hinata X Kiba

Love triangle(s) to far:

Ino X Shikamaru X Temari

Here's the chapter. It didn't turn out the way I wanted to, but I really wanted to get something up.

Well, this chapter got up later than I thought. I didn't get the ten reviews I wanted. I was cut short by one. -cries- But that's okay, I guess. As long as some people like this story, right? Anyways, I sort of rushed this chapter. So please excuse the suckiness of this chapter.

**NOTE:** I know I said I'd be putting in some more Hinata, but she hasn't had a part in many chapters. Therefore, I am going to be adding a bigger part for her next chapter. I SWEAR IT! Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye! -does actions- She'll be one of the mainest (lol, not a word) characters.

I'm glad more people have this story on story alerts!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters, to my dismay.

* * *

Chapter Eight: My Friend  


There was an awkward silence between them. Kei and Lee waited for either Tenten or Neji to make the first move. Tenten forced a smile. _Grin and bear it, _she told herself. Her legs moved robotically, taking her to her seat beside Neji, how would join him eventually. _Crappy seating plan_, she thought angrily. _Mr. I'm-going-to-make-your-life-confusing-and-date-your-worst-enemy is sitting beside me or near me in almost every class. _She sighed and rested her elbow on her desk, laying her cheek in her palm.

Lee, on the other hand, did not choose to be covert about the situation. He uncharacteristically threw Neji a dirty look and trudged to his seat beside Kiba, who was watching the situation with his jaw to the ground. Lee looked out the corner of his eyes to see Tenten, who was staring blankly at the chalkboard.

Neji looked offended at the sudden death glare. He turned to face Kei, ignoring 'the look' Lee sent him, and said, "I'll see you later." Neji cooly stood up from the seat and slipped into his seat beside Tenten, earning admiring swoons from his fangirls.

"He asked me out," Kei said innocently to her friends. "We aren't sure what we're going to do, or when it'll be, but we will go out!"

"No way!" one fangirl exclaimed in an annoying high-pitched manner.

"Yes way!" she responded in an equally high-pitched tone.

Neji, Tenten, and Lee chose to ignore that intelectual conversation. Ino, on the other hand, couldn't stop herself from seeing if that was the truth. Thus, she deserved her title, Gossip Queen of their group of twelve. "Is that true, Neji? Did ya really ask Kei out?"

"BATHROOM," Tenten yelled out to their homeroom teacher, Kurenai, who looked as though someone had shot a gun right by her ears.

"You don't have to tell me, Tenten," Kurenai stated, recovering from the shock. "Just go ahead."

"Apparantly," Tenten said before she left, "that rule applies to more things in life."

"Oooooo," Ino, Kiba, and Naruto all sang in unison.

Tenten spun on her heels, and without giving Neji a passing glance, stomped out. "Was it something I said?" Kurenai thought out loud.

"No, it is not you, Kurenai-sensei," Lee assured. "But I wonder what person could have made her this angry." Neji was shocked at Lee's sudden attitude, but did not want to be overpowered in any way. Kiba and Naruto moved so they sat in Ino and Sakura's seats, and were eating chips with Choji as they watched the 'show'.

"Free cable," Naruto whispered to Kiba, who snorted.

Neji turned to Lee, who continued to look forward, and hissed, "If this is because I asked Kei out then Tenten is being unr---"

"There is much more than that," Lee snapped, "and you of all people should know. It is _never too late _to ask, is it?" With that, Lee pushed himself away from the desk and followed his friend, Tenten, out. Choji's jaw dropped as he heard Lee mutter a few curses under his breath. Never would anyone even think Lee would swear, let alone at one of his best friends.

Ino turned to Neji and gasped. "You **did** ask Kei out! _And_ you knew Tenten hates Kei! How could you do this to her?" she scolded. "Now, I don't know what happened at her house friday night, but it's definately bad."

"Wait," Neji said, "friday night?" _Does she know that I confessed I like Tenten? _"What happened friday night?"

"You don't know?" Ino gasped again. Neji shook his head. "Well, I went to her house to ask her where she got her purse, because I thought it was really cute, right? And it would go really well with one of my purple miniskirts---" Neji cleared his throat, interupting her rant. "Oh, right. Well, when I rang the doorbell, she didn't answer. I checked to see if her door was open, and it was. And when I looked inside, everything was upsidedown! A whole bunch of her special weapons were missing. I called her name, but she didn't answer, so I left." Ino scrunched up her face. "I wonder why she didn't tell you."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the second bell, everyone headed to their second class with Gai. Gym. Everyone grouped together in either pairs, groups of three, or larger. Tenten jogged with Sasuke, who could sense she was worried. Lee ran by himself, since everyone knew he was too fast for everyone else. Sakura and Ino ran together, and Ino ranted about how Shikamaru was a big jerk. Sakura occasionally nodded, pretending to listen. Naruto continually sent glares at Kiba, who was jogging with Hinata. Shino and Choji walked slowly, exchanging information about the increasing relationship problems. Together, they knew a lot. Neji and Shikamaru jogged together, being the 'enemies' they were.

"I just don't understand girls," Shikamaru complained. "I went to Ino's house to see if she was okay, and she just locks me out and doesn't want to talk to me."

"Maybe it's because she's been crushing on you forever, and she caught you making out with Temari," Neji said sarcastically, laughing a little at his lame comment. How the mightly have fallen, no? "But yeah, you're totally right. She's being sooooo unreasonable."

Shikamaru smirked. "Oh, yeah, and Tenten hasn't been crushing on you for a long time," he retorted smugly. "Maybe she's angry at you because you just made her life more complicated?" Neji raised an eyebrow and looked at the so called 'genuis' with shock. "It's obvious," Shikamaru stated in a know-it-all tone. "Tenten refuses to look at you, so you must have done something to make her absolutely frustrated at you, since you were always close friends. Both of you liked each other. Even I knew that. And now you're asking Kei out. Geez, it's just like the movie. You _have _to have more creativity than that."

"Shut up," Neji said, lacking in a better comeback.

"Ooooo, that stung," Shikamaru said sarcastically.

Tenten and Sasuke jogged past them. Sasuke looked at the two, then picked up the pace when he realized Tenten was speeding away, intending on getting away from Neji. "Hey, wait up," Sasuke called. He finally caught up to her, then saw the distraught look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Sasuke, why do you like me?" she asked suddenly, catching the boy off-guard. "I'm not super smart like Sakura, or super pretty like Ino, or super nice like Hinata, or bi---I mean rich like Kei, or really spunky like Temari."

Sasuke smirked as though the answer was obvious. "But that's exactly why I like you. You aren't super smart, you aren't super pretty---although you're still beautiful---, you aren't super nice, you aren't rich, and you aren't too spunky. I like you because you're all of those, but you aren't too much of any of them. You aren't so smart that you're annoyingly smart, so pretty that it hurts to look at you, so nice that you're a pushover, rich that I can't buy you anything expensive, and too spunky that it's annoying." Tenten smiled. "Does that answer your question?"

The bell rang, signalling recess. "COME ON IN, EVERYONE!" Gai exclaimed loudly from the gym.

Neji and Shikamaru, who were already slowly walking after Tenten and Sasuke passed them, changed direction so they were heading to the gym. "Man, this is so troublesome."

"Everything is to you," Neji stated boredly. "So, are you going to talk to Ino?"

Shikamaru stopped walking and narrowed his eyes. "Troublesome, but if you talk to Tenten first, I'll talk to Ino." He suddenly switched to another topic, as though it was planned. "Speaking of Tenten, isn't that her over there with Sasuke?" Shikamaru pointed to the couple. Tenten was closing in on Sasuke. Shikamaru and Neji's jaws dropped.

Tenten's lips gently met Sasuke's, who was shocked at first. After getting the message that Tenten was kissing him, he tilted his head and held his arms loosly around her waist. Tenten tilted her head the other way and slipped her arms around his neck. Both closed their eyes as they drifted into their own dream land, inhaling the other's scent. The kiss lasted for a couple of seconds. After, they broke apart and embraced each other. "You're so sweet, Sasuke."

"But some people think the contrary; some say I'm sour," he joked back.

The hug ended and Tenten giggled. "Is that a joke I hear from Sasuke Uchiha?"

Sasuke 'hn'ed. Tenten laughed again and took his hand, directing him to the school.

Shikamaru and Neji stared at the spoot where the two lovers once stood. "Well that was unexpected," Shikamaru stated bluntly.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neji sat in his desk, waiting for the lunch bell to ring. "Hey, Neji!" Naruto whispered. "You know what I heard?"

"How would I know?" Neji asked plainly with a bitter tone.

"Shut up!" he hissed. "Well, anyways, you know how Ino told you about Tenten's house friday night?" Neji nodded, now interested in what Naruto had to say. Strange. "It turns out someone broke into her house, stole a whole bunch of expensive items, and tore up her pictures. She got really pissed and ran to Lee's house to stay there for the whole weekend."

"And you know this how?" Neji asked.

Naruto smirked. "I heard Lee and Tenten explaining that to Kakashi-sensei in first block when she didn't hand her homework in."

_Lee's house? _Neji thought jealously, thought he would never admit it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day passed slowly to Neji. He stared at the clock, as if it would speed up time. He spent most of his class time writing different ways to confront Tenten about what happened. He was called on a few times, but bring Neji, he pulled out a random answer and it was right. So far, this is what he wrote:

Option #1: What the hell were you doing, kissing Sasuke like that?

Option #2: twiddle thumbs Hey, Tenten. I-I was just wondering...ummm...oh, is that the bell? I uhhh...have to g-go. run away

Option #3: Tenten, as your friend, I would like to know why you were kissing Sasuke.

Option #4: It's pretty sunny today, huh? So why were you kissing "Sasuke?

At the end of the day, he held up his paper and looked at it proudly. _It took me the whole day to make this crap? Great. _He began to mentally review the options in his head, and strike them out. _Option One is good...if I want to get myself verbally and possibly physically murdered. Option Two is too Hinata-like. Option Three seems too overprotective, but it's a good approach. Option Four is just stupid. Immediately crossed out. Stupid Naruto, stealing my paper, reading it over, then adding another option. _He ripped the paper into small pieces, crumbled the pieces, then threw them in the garbage to hid the evidence.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tenten grabbed her bag from her locker, slung it over her shoulders, and got ready to leave. Suddenly, she felt a strong hand grab her arm and drag her to a deadend in the hallway. "Naruto?" (A/N: Bet you thought it was Neji, huh?) "What do you want?"

Naruto brought a finger up to his lips and hushed her. "Look, you're a girl, right?"

Tenten frowned. "No, I'm really a guy. Shhh!" she replied sarcastically.

Naruto either ignored the sarcasm, or was too stupid to catch it. "Well, you know that Hinata is going out with Kiba, right?" Tenten nodded. Naruto took a sharp breath in and felt his heart beats increasing. "I heard that she liked me before from Ino, but I don't know if it's true. And, well, Ino has this reputation where she tells people so many rumours, and I don't know if she's telling the truth this time. Because I really want to know! Hinata going out with Kiba is just killing me inside, and I have no idea why. I mean, I know I'm stupider than some people, but this makes me feel stupiderer!"

Tenten blinked twice. "I'll ignore the fact that you said 'stupiderer' and get to the point. But first you have to promise not to tell anyone I'm telling you this, including Hinata."

"Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye," he recited, performing the gestures as he did.

"So immature," Tenten laughed. "Okay, Hinata did like you. I don't know if she still likes you or not, but she did like you." Then she smirked and continued, "And you're jealous. That's why it's bothering you. But, alas, you have lost your chance. Hinata is with someone else now."

"Aw man, now I know how Neji fe---feeds his dog," he said, covering up his mistake. Tenten raised an eyebrow. "You know," Naruto continued, blabbing sentences at the top of his head, "how he goes home and that dog, with that name, and---you know what? I've gotta go." He picked up his bag and dashed off, leaving Tenten suspicious.

"Right," Tenten muttered. She twirled around and began humming as walked to the door. She pushed it open and went to sit on a bench. Tenten closed her eyes in a relaxing manner, ready to take a seat. Her journey, however, was cut short, due to a solid object standing in her way. "Oof! Oh, I'm so sorry!" She opened her eyes to come face-to-face with a lavender and peach wall. "A wall outside?" she asked out loud. Then she shook her head. They were eyes. "EYES?" she shrieked as she stepped back. She was so close to Neji's face, that his eyes and pale skin were the only things visible.

Neji squeezed one of his eyes closed and placed his knuckle in his ear as if trying to mock her. "Damn, you're so loud," he mumbled.

"Sorry," Tenten apologized again, this time saying it in a manner that contradicted her words. "Look, if this is about me and Sasuke, I really don't want to talk about it with you. In fact, I'd prefer not to talk about it at all."

_Great,_ Neji thought sarcastically. _If I walk away now, she'll know that's what I wanted to talk about, and that'll just make her even angrier. _Neji shook his head and sat on the bench. "I want to ask you something else. Something that has been...bothering me."

Tenten took a seat next to him and smiled. Not on the other side of the bench, but beside him. This made it a little easier for him. _Maybe I judged him wrong. But then again, this is Neji. Wow, the concentration on his face makes him look cute! ARG, NO! _"What is it?" she asked through her clenched teeth, trying to erase the odd images of Neji flashing through her mind.

"I just---you went---why did you go to Lee's house on friday? I live so much closer."

There was a long pause. _How does he know? _was the only thought that was running through her mind. _How am I supposed to explain this? It's his fault! _Tenten turned her whole body around so she faced him, and unconciously placed her hand over his. "It's because...it's because I thought you were mad at me because of what happened before that. I slapped you and ran away. I just thought that...if I went to your house, you'd still be mad at me and wouldn't let me in."

Neji didn't know whether to be furious or guilty. "That was pretty stupid," he replied automatically.

"Excuse me?" Tenten asked impetuously.

"No, I didn't mean that," Neji added quickly, fear evident in his eyes. "I meant that it's just stupid you'd go all the way across town to Lee's house." He chuckled lightly, then his face turned serious. He stared her in the eye. Tenten felt like backing away into a corner because of the aura he was exerting. "I must be a really bad friend to make you feel that."

"No kidding," she joked back.

"But I'm serious," Neji said sternly, arching his eyebrows so there was a crease on his forehead. "I want you to know that no matter how angry we are at each other, we're still friends. I want you to know that I'll never be too mad at you that I won't help you when you need it. Do you understand me?" The second after he blinked, two arms were wrapped around him tightly, and a head was burried in the crook of his neck.

"Thank you so much, Neji," Tenten whispered happily. "I'm so glad we can still be friends."

Neji flinched. _Friends,_ he repeated to himself. _That's all we are. Really good friends. _"I'm glad, too," he responded half-heartedly. "But," he added, "you should stop hugging me. People are staring at us, and that isn't really good because you're in a relationship."

"Right," Tenten agreed, letting him go. _Relationship...with Sasuke. _"Well, I have to go. I promised Lee I'd go grocery shopping with him."

Neji nodded and waved goodbye. He watched Tenten run off to their green-loving friend, who was yet again proclaiming declarations of youth. "So, you guys talked, huh?" Shikamaru asked, approaching his friend.

"Yeah."

Just as he was about to leave, Naruto grabbed Neji's hand, who grabbed Shikamaru, who complained about how something troublesome was about to happen. Naruto stopped dragging his friends when they rounded a corner to a secluded dumpster behind the school. "Everything is messed up!" he cried.

"Damn, you're a quick one," Shikamaru exclaimed, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Screw you," Naruto barked.

Neji raised an eyebrow and let out a low, long whistle. "Somebody's PMSing," he joked.

Naruto stomped his right foot on the ground like a temperamental five year old wanting cookies before dinner. "Everything is screwed, I'm telling you! Neji, you're supposed to be with Tenten if you're with anyone. Shikamaru, you're screwing around with Temari, while Ino is crying her heart out! And _I'm _supposed to be with Hinata, not Kiba! And Sasuke knows we all claimed who which person gets a long time ago, so why did he make a move on Tenten? He's supposed to be with Sakura!"

"Because I can," a deep voice said. The three boys spun around to come face-to-face with a figure materializing from the shadows casted by the extended roof.

"S-Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed, acting as though he wasn't just talking about him behind his back. He rubbed the back of his head nervously, hoping to think of a good excuse. _Come on, Naruto, think! _"Hey, Sasuke 'ol buddy 'ol pal!"

_Excellent excuse, einstein, _Shikamaru and Neji thought at the same time.

"Well," Naruto continued with his awesome cover-up, "this is awkward, huh? But it's not what you think!"

_Bull,_ Sasuke thought. He decided not to say it out loud, however, because it would only make Naruto feel stupider than he already is. If that was possible. Maybe it isn't? "I'm sorry for messing up your plan, but you can't claim girls like property."

"You claimed Sakura," Naruto spat back.

"That's completely different."

"No, Naruto's right," Shikamaru cut in. Pause. "Never thought I'd say that statement, let alone hear it."

As Naruto continued the argument with Shikamaru, asking why he said nobody would think Naruto's right, Sasuke began thinking about the situation. _Naruto__** is**__ right, though. Everything has been messing up ever since Tenten and I started going out. Maybe if we just---no, I don't want to do that. But if I have to, I will break up with her._ "Are you guys really angry about this situation?"

Naruto stopped his fist in mid-air, only inches away from Shikamaru's bored expression. Naruto let go of Shikamaru's collar and dropped him to the ground, both turning their attention to Sasuke. Neji, who was meditating on what Tenten previously said to him, snapped out of his thoughts and turned to Sasuke as well. "Angry about what?" Neji asked obliviously.

"Me dating Tenten. Is it really bothering you that much?" Sasuke asked, desperateness crawling into his voice. "Because if you want, I'll break up with her."

"Don't do that," Neji said almost automatically. "Stay with her, it's fine."

There was an awkward silence, where everyone except for Neji was trying to digest what he just said. "A-Are you sure?" Sasuke asked uneasily. "I don't want us to stop being friends just because of a girlfriend. I mean, Tenten's awesome, but if you guys don't like it then---"

"It's fine," Neji interupted. "_We _don't mind." Naruto and Shikamaru caught onto the 'we' part and nodded briskly. "Don't dump her. Tenten really likes you."

"Thanks, guys. I really like her too." And with that, Sasuke turned around and walked off.

"Are you sure about this?" Shikamaru asked after an extended period of silence.

Neji thought about this, then nodded. _Her happiness is what's best_. "Now it's your turn to talk to Ino." Then he turned to Naruto and frowned. "And as much as I'd hate to say this, I think I should. If you want to get Hinata, then I'll back off. Just don't mess up her life. Having two people liking you can really...pull someone apart." It was really tough for Neji to say that, no matter who it was. But this person was Naruto. _Na-ru-to_. _If Hinata really likes him, and if he likes her, then I guess I can't be the over-protective cousin anymore. _Then he paused. _But...it's __**Naruto**__! Arg, out of all the guys, she had to choose him. __**Naruto! **_After repeating Naruto's name a few more times in his head, each time in a more disgusted tone, Neji decided to take off and go home.

* * *

Well, there we go. Nothing really happens in this chapter (sort of XD) that is crucial in the overall story, besides Neji and Tenten becoming friends again. Oh, and there's a little foreshadowing going on here. I won't tell you where it is. Sometimes things are obviously foreshadowing, but then the writer makes a part seem like it would be obvious foreshadowing, when a subtle part is really the foreshadowing. Just letting you know. 

-wink- This story won't be continuing for much longer. I'm not sure about how many chapters there will be, but I don't think there will be more than five. Then again, I could be wrong.

**NOTE: **I will not be having a chapter preview now, because I'm not quite sure what will happen. I still have to plan the next few chapters, and what's going to happen in each. I have some ideas, but they're quite scattered. Just letting you know, I think up these ideas randomly. I haven't planned this story at all, except for chapters one to three, where I pre-wrote them and submitted when I wanted to.

**15** people have this story on alerts, but I don't think that many people will review. This is because last time I asked for ten reviews when there were **12 **people who had this story on alerts, and I didn't meet my goal.

What I really find depressing is how _Never Let Go_, my other ONE-SHOT story, and _I Never Heard You Say_, the sequel, have reviews that total 26. That's very close to the amount of reviews I have for this story. Plus that series together was **three chapters**. Oh well, I guess you can't have everything, hm?

Please review!

**ANOTHER NOTE: **I'm thinking of making another fanfiction, just filled with one-shots of various pairings. The genre will change each story, ie: Angst, humour, plain fluff, etc. Almost all stories will have romance, though. I'm wondering how many people will read it if I do start another story. Please indicate in your review if you'd at least check it out or not. If you won't, just don't write anything about this.


	9. Now What?

What you need to know:

"As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough" - speaking

As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough - what's happening

_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough _- thinking

**As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough **- Inner Sakura

"_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough"_ - Singing

_Text centered in the page with italics _- the song being sung by the artist

Summary:

Neji finds out Tenten is dating Sasuke. Hell breaks loose and disaster can't be far behind as new relationships form and old ones break. More pairings inside. Summary sucks. R&R!. Ch. 9: Now What?

Official 'couples' so far:

Tenten X Sasuke

Sakura X Lee

Hinata X Kiba

Love triangle(s) to far:

Ino X Shikamaru X Temari

Wow, I think I got this chapter up pretty quick. -checks the date I last updated and the date today- Holy, nevermind. This took two weeks to update??? It actually only took like...two days to write because my ideas just took control of my fingers like magic, and here we are!

The reason I took so long was because of school. I just got 20/30 (that's 66.7) on a math quest (quiz + test quest. I know it's lame...) because my teacher isn't the best explainer, to put it in polite terms. -mutters curses- And my finals are in like...errrrr...one month and five days. Now, I'm not saying I study, because I don't. But I have to demand practice exams my friends (who have no life) make up. Saying this, the next few chapters may take a longer time to get up.

**NOTE:** I put more Hinata in this chapter! Now I just need more Sakura XP

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters, to my dismay. And, as you'll notice soon, I finally added a song. I do not own that song, either. It's called Can't Stop The Rain by **Cascada.  
**

* * *

Chapter Nine: Now What?

Tenten finally made her way to Lee's house, lugging the grocery bags behind her. "Stupid Sakura, asking Lee out to an early dinner then a movie right when I've got fifty pounds of food to carry twenty miles," she muttered angrily, fumbling around with her many keys before finding the right one. Why did she have many keys? Well, Tenten had one for her house, one for her diary, one for her room, one for Lee's house, and one for Neji's house. After she walked in and closed the doors, Tenten threw the bags onto the kitchen table and sighed. "I'm probably going to take Sasuke up on his offer and stay at his house when his brother leaves."

As she unpacked everything, the phone suddenly began to ring. Completely forgetting she held a carton of eggs in her hand, she dashed to the phone and picked it up. Unfortunately, she was wearing socks on a wood floor, so she slipped, threw the cartons up in the air, and landed on the floor. Tenten let out a loud shriek as the eggs smashed on her from above, the yolk running down her hair, arms, and cheeks. "Hello?" she greeted through her gritted teeth.

"Are you okay?" a concerned voice asked from the other side.

Tenten sighed and stood up, rubbing her butt and groaning from pain. "Yeah, I just ran all the way here, slipped, fell and threw a carton of eggs up in the air. Now I'm just covered in egg and yolk, that's all. How are you?"

She heard Sasuke snort at the other end, causing her to frown. "I'm fine. Listen, my brother is leaving tonight to stay in a hotel. He and a few friends are going to spend time there together, then he's going to stop by here once more and leave." Then he cleared his throat, as if waiting for Tenten to catch on.

When she didn't, a voice in the background said, "He wants you to come by and stay with him here."

"Shut up, Itachi," Sasuke yelled, attempting to cover the speaker on the phone. After a few awkward seconds, he continued, "So, do you want to come by and stay with me? It's okay if you don't want to."

"No," Tenten exclaimed, "I really want to! Let me just tell Lee I'm going over there. I'll be there in about forty-five minutes, because I've gotta unpack a few more groceries, buy some eggs, have a bath, and pack my stuff up."

"Okay, I'll see you later." With that, he hung up.

Tenten hung the phone up as well and smiled. _At least this means more bonding time with my...__**boyfriend**__. Ugh, that word still makes me shiver._She took a wet towel and began to scrub the floor, trying to clean the residue of the accident. _After this, I'll take a bath, change my clothes, and pack everything up. _

------------------------------------------------------------------------

After changing and making sure her hair was dry, Tenten glanced at the clock. She had seven minutes to get to Sasuke's house before the forty-five minutes expired, but she knew better. If she was late, there was a better chance that she wouldn't see Itachi, and that would make it less awkward. _But Sasuke, being Sasuke, would have probably shooed Itachi out a while ago to make sure Itachi didn't embarrass him, _she mentally added. Tenten put her hair up in the two classic buns she was known for, grabbed her bags, and skipped downstairs. She unlocked the front door, but paused in her steps. "Oh yeah, better write a letter for Lee." She walked back to the kitchen after dropping her bags at the front, and scrambled through his drawers to find paper and a pen. Tenten roughly scribbled down a note, left it on the table, and walked back to the front door, grabbing her bags and walking out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hinata jogged to Ichiraku, stumbling a few times as she did. _I'm late! What will Kiba say?_ she thought worriedly. Then she couldn't take it anymore; she had to stop. She bent down and placed her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. The Hyuuga mansion wasn't in the centre of the town so it was close to everything, neither was it near the famous, yet small, Ichiraku ramen shop. Hinata was never late for anything, no matter how important or unimportant it was. It was all because of Hanabi, who kept shooting neverending questions about why Hinata was going out on a date with Kiba, rather than Naruto. Hinata, being the polite girl she was, tried to explain it the best she could without losing her hidden temper, until she finally distracted Hanabi with the classic 'look over there!' and dashed off.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Hinata looked up, finally catching her breath, and gasped quietly. "K-Kiba!" she exclaimed in a panicked tone. "I-I'm so sorry for being late! I-I didn't mean it. It's j-just Hanabi was asking me q-questions---" she paused, then lied, "---about her homework."

Kiba chuckled and smiled. "No problem! It's just you've never been late for anything, so I got a little worried."

Hinata straightened her posture and looked around. They weren't in front of Ichiraku, meaning Kiba must have been looking for her. "I-I'm sorry," she reiterated.

"Hey, no more apologizing, unless you knock me unconcious, or cut my fingers off by accident, got it?" he joked.

Hinata laughed and nodded.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke paced back and forth in front of his brother, who was sitting on a couch. He turned to face Itachi, once again, and asked, "Why are you still here? Aren't Deidara and Sasori waiting for you?" (A/N: In my story, Deidara doesn't actually have hands on his mouth. Remember, this is a high school fanfiction. And they're both normal and good. There's no Akatsuki, and they didn't kill anybody.)

Itachi yawned and smirked. "They'll wait. Right now, I want to meet your girlfriend."

Sasuke blushed lightly and frowned. "Just don't embarrass me!" he whined in an usually high-pitched voice

Itachi burst out laughing. "Whatever."

Before Sasuke could go on a swearing rampage of frustration, the doorbell rang. Sasuke immediately raced to the door, as if his pants were on fire, and opened it professionally. "Hi, Tenten," he greeted calmly. "Come on in."

"Hi, Sasuke." Tenten gave him a quick peck on the cheek and walked in, merrily holding her bags in either hand. "Thanks again for letting me stay here. Lee went off on a date with Sakura and I had a feeling they were going to be a while. Lee called me on my way here and said he was going to go out after school again tomorrow with Sakura, so it was going to be really lonely. I mean, after hanging out with loud and excited Lee, being in his house alone just makes it feel...strange."

"No problem," Sasuke replied. "Oh, but my brother is still here, so don't let him---"

"Ah," Itachi interrupted as they walked in, "you must be Tenten, Sasuke's girlfriend!" He stood up, walked over to the couple, and extended his hand. "I'm Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's older brother."

Tenten nodded and shook his hand. "Hi Itachi," she said uncomfortably. "It's very nice to meet you." _Oh no, this is going to be awkward. This is like meeting the parents, except this is the older brother, and his older brother can say anything he wants to! He might talk about---_

"Don't worry," Itachi interrupted again, crashing Tenten's spinning train of thought, "I won't embarrass you or anything. No," he walked over to Sasuke and messed up his hair, "I'm here to embarrass my little brother."

"Itachi," Sasuke whined in a soft voice, "leave!"

Tenten waved her hand the in air and forced an obviously uncomfortable smile. "No, no, it's alright! You shouldn't kick him out when he doesn't want to leave. I mean, it's thanks to Itachi leaving that I can stay here."

"You should listen to your girlfriend, Sasuke," Itachi teased, "she's smart." Before Sasuke could even think of a comeback, Itachi's cell phone began to ring. "Hello? Oh, hey Deidara. No, I'm still here. No, I'm meeting Sasuke's girlfriend. I know, he's growing up so fast. It's almost like yesterday he was wearing that pink---"

"Enough!" Sasuke screeched, which was totally out of his character.

Itachi just rolled his eyes and ruffled Sasuke's hair again. "Yeah, I'm just leaving now. I'll see you in a few minutes." He hung up and smirked. "Lucky you, Sasori hates it when people make him wait. He's already pissed at me for being half an hour late." He ruffled his brother's hair once more (A/N: I know I made him ruffle/mess up Sasuke's hair a lot, but it just seems like something Itachi would do if he was nicer) before grabbing his bag and throwing it on his back. "I'll see you love birds later. Don't do anything that could get you guys in trouble. You're only in high school, remember." He raised his eyebrows and smiled mischievously. "Don't let your hormones take control." Before Sasuke could launch himself at his brother, Itachi already ran out and slammed the door closed.

"He's…" Tenten forced a laugh, "interesting."

She turned to see Sasuke, who was blushing many different shades and tints of red. "Don't listen to or believe anything he said," he responded, making it sound more like a demand than a suggestion.

Tenten giggled and bent down to pick up her bags up again. "Are you going to show me to my room?"

"Of course, miss," Sasuke said sarcastically, grabbing her bags before she could and directing her down the hall. Tenten huffed and placed her hands on her hips, not intending on moving. She, unlike some girls, took his action as an insult. "I didn't want you to break your back, honey," he mocked.

"Hmph!" Tenten exclaimed, storming after him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"See you tomorrow, Sakura!" Lee exclaimed, waving at the shrinking girl moving into the distance. He walked in and stopped at the kitchen. _Looks like Tenten was able to bring the groceries home. But I should not doubt her ablilities! Speaking---I mean thinking of Tenten..._ "Tenten! I am back!" he called. No answer. Lee moved towards the stairs and looked upstairs. "Tenten, are you there?" he yelled. Still no answer. He shrugged and decided he would look for her after he put the milk and eggs in the fridge. As he closed the fridge, he noticed the paper on the table.

_Lee,_

_I am glooping to Sasoke's house, and staying there fur a few deys. See you ah school tumorruw._

_Tenten._

Lee shook his head rapidly and blinked a few times. _That doesn't make sense!_ he thought curiously. Then he brought the letter up to his face, squinted, then stretched his arms so the letter was farther again. _Oh, I see it now! _he thought proudly.

_Lee,_

_I am going to Sasuke's house, and staying there for a few days. See you at school tomorrow._

_Tenten._

Due to the rushed technique in her writing, Lee was unable to comprehend the note. "Sasuke's house? Why did she leave? Did I do something wrong?" He looked around once more, as if hoping she was still there, but had no such luck. Lee moved towards the phone and went to dial her number. _But perhaps she does not want to talk to me, _he thought, as he slowly hung the phone up. _I just hope she is not angry._

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hinata took out her wallet and pulled out a few bills, ready to place it on the table, until a hand intercepted her own. She looked to see Kiba, who was smiling goofily, and placing his own money on the table. "I asked you out, so I'm going to pay," he laughed.

"B-But---"

"No 'buts'," Kiba interupted in a sing-song voice. "I'm paying, and that's final."

Once again, the girl nodded, then put her wallet back in her pocket. "K-Kiba," she whispered, "I have a question."

Kiba shoved his wallet in his pocket and raised an eyebrow. "Hmmm?"

Hinata began to fidget. She twiddled her thumbs and began swinging her legs back and forth, since she was not yet able to reach the ground. "Do you," she asked quietly, "do you think of me as more of a friend? Or d-do you just think of me as a f-friend." Her face grew determined as she turned to him and gave him a serious expression. "Please tell me the truth! I n-need to know!"

Kiba fell silent. He looked down at the wooden counter as though it would give him answers. Nervousness caught him in a chokehold as he sat there, frozen. He knew what she wanted to hear, it was just...hard for him to speak at that moment. "I get it," he finally responded. "I know you like Naruto. I'm not sure why you decided to go out with me, but that is information I don't require to make this decision: Perhaps we should break up. I know you only see me as a friend; it's obvious in your actions. And I only see you as a friend, too, so you should tell Naruto your feelings for him!" He grinned and gave a thumbs up. "I wish you the best."

Hinata felt something in her heart explode (perhaps her worry), sending out rays of light and hope. "T-Thank you so much, Kiba! You're such a good friend! Thank you so much!" She brought him into a quick enbrace and hugged him with strength neither of them knew she had.

"It's fine! It's fine!" Kiba chuckled. "Now, you go find Naruto and tell him everything." Hinata thanked him a few more times then rushed off, stumbling a few times over some rocks on the road as she did. Kiba watched her indigo hair bob up and down as her image began to fade away into the crowd. _I'm glad I could make up happy, _Kiba said inwardly, smiling ruefully as he watched her find someone who would love her back.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hinata began to pick up the pace as she weaved through the crowd like thread, trying to find Naruto before her confidence decreased. She sharply turned a corner into a shortcut, but was cut off by a figure. Hinata and the figure grunted as they both came in contact with the ground. "I-I'm so sorry!" Hinata apologized, pushing herself from the ground.

"Where's Neji?" the figure asked in a sweet voice, deciding not to apologize, and to ignore Hinata's apology.

Hinata covered her mouth and gasped.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

(A/N: Hinata's conversation with Kiba is happening at the same time as Tenten arriving at Sasuke's, their short conversation with Itachi, and this next section. The section after this continues right after Hinata gasps, just in case that wasn't clear.)

"Finally," Tenten exclaimed as she plopped on to her bed. She stretched and yawned loudly, rolling over so she was on her stomach.

"Did you have dinner yet?" Sasuke inquired as he placed her bags on the ground gently. "I have some onigiri and nikujaga if you want. Those are you favourite foods, right??"

Tenten squealed and sat straight up on the bed with her legs crossed. "Yes, please!" she sang. "I haven't had onigiri or nikujaga in so long."

Sasuke smiled an actual smile, nodded, then closed the door. He slowly walked downstairs, heading towards the kitchen. He opened the cabinet and pulled out a tray, as well as a plate and a glass. As he prepared the nikujaga, he caught a glance of a picture he kept on his kitchen counter. He was on the left side, giving his usual annoyed look, because Naruto, who was on the right, was shouting happily and giving a thumbs up sign at the camera. Then there was Sakura. She was in the middle, giving an innocent smile and a peace sign. Sasuke couldn't help but smile upon seeing Sakura's face, but then it filled with guilt.

**FLASHBACK (to chapter six)**

"Why were you walking with Neji?"

"I was walking with Hinata, too," Tenten snapped back. "And I would have been walking with you if you were actually there. I waited for you until 6:50, and decided to leave. Then Hinata called me from behind, and we all decided to walk together. What I want to know, is why you weren't there when you promised."

"I told you, I had to stop by somewhere."

"But you didn't tell me where," Tenten retorted, anger and suspicion weaving its way into her tone. "Why are you keeping secrets from me?"

Sasuke had a hurt expression on his face as he took his seat next to Tenten. "I was just dropping off a letter for my brother, that's it. I didn't think it was such a big deal. I just had to wait around because the guy wasn't at his house. I'm sorry."

He took Tenten's hand. "Ugh, I forgive you," she gave in.

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Sasuke left the food on the table and walked over to the living room. He began to massage his temples, mumbling a few phrases out of confusion, guilt, and frustration.

**FLASHBACK (this happened before the previous flashback)**

Sasuke waited impatiently, hidden inside of a dark alley. His feet tapped to the rhythm of his increasing heartbeat. He clutched the small package in his hands protectively and narrowed his eyebrows. "You took long enough," he murmured, stepping out of the shadows.

"Sorry," Temari apologized sarcastically, "but I had other business to attend to. Kankuro and Gaara were having this secret conversation that they wouldn't tell me about, and I had to chase Kankuro around the house to tell me. So, where's the food poisoning?"

Sasuke showed her the package. Temari greedily snatched the item and stared at it as though it was a diamond. "What are you going to use those for?"

Temari chuckled roguishly and stuffed the package in her pocket. "As you know, I'm dating Shikamaru. And I don't like it when other girls are too close to my boyfriend. Call me overprotective, but that's just the way I am." She shrugged and patted her pocket where the object was. "Let's just say a certain blonde will have a few problems if she gets even one centimeter closer to my Shika."

Sasuke frowned. _Ino, _he thought worriedly. "Whatever," he said as he turned around. "I have to go home and pick something up. I'll meet you at the theater." He began to walk away, until Temari caught his shoulder. She twirled him around and planted her lips on his forcefully. Sasuke was taken back at her sudden action. _What is she doing?_ He pulled away after a few seconds and growled. "What the hell are you doing? If you don't want your boyfriend to get close to another girl, I suggest you stay away from other guys."

Temari rolled her eyes and licked her lips. "I don't have to take your suggestion. You won't tell anyone I kissed you, though, will you? I mean, if Tenten found out, I could just tell her you forced yourself on me. We are good friends. Who would she believe? Someone she's dating out of pity, or someone who has been her friend for years?"

Sasuke tightened his grip on his fists, swung around, and continued walking without another word.

**END OF FLASHBACK **

_I can't believe I lied to Tenten,_ he thought dejectedly. _I said I went to drop off a letter for my brother, and instead I was giving Temari some food poisoning she's going to use on Ino. I'm so stupid!_ He stood up, grabbed the prepared nikujaga and onigiri, and dragged himself up the stairs. Thoughts raced through his mind, breaking him down until he wearily opened the door with a fake smile plastered on his face. "Here's the food," he stated in a forced voice.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?" she asked.

Sasuke looked around uneasily and placed the tray on the bedside table. He pulled up a seat in front of her and looked her in the eyes. "Are you dating me out of pity?"

Tenten let out a small gasp. "Sasuke...I..." she trailed off.

**FLASHBACK (to chapter two)**

"Look, Neji, about a few days ago," she said uncomfortably, "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you. It's just, Sasuke told me he liked me so suddenly, and he looked like he was about to beg, and I just couldn't say no!"

"So you're dating him out of pity," Neji concluded, trying to stop his voice from rising in anger.

Tenten shook her head and looked straight forwards again. "It started that way," Neji felt his heart break a little, "but then I started to actually like him for who he is. Now I really think I like him."

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Tenten smiled ruefully, remembering that sleepover where Neji asked her that same question. She didn't feel comfortable telling Sasuke she started dating him out of pity. She knew he would be disappointed. "It..." She couldn't finish her sentences. Desperately trying to grab onto one solid phrase was her goal at that time, but it seemed unreachable. "Sasuke...it's..."

Sasuke could feel his heart breaking, piece by piece. It was as if Tenten was hammering his heart unknowingly, easily breaking it as though it was made of delicate glass. Silence fell between them, neither knowing what to say. Sasuke wanted to get up and leave, but someone or something binded his legs together. Tenten wanted to kick him out, but she didn't have that kind of authority in his house. Their relationship was strung together by fate, used as a toy for its own amusement.

"Don't look so down," Tenten laughed, finally mustering a proper voice. "I was just fooling around with you! Of course I'm not dating you out of pity, you silly goose." She playfully punched him on the arm then grabbed the onigiri and stuffed it into her mouth as if trying to fit all of it in. Unsuccessful attempt.

Sasuke chuckled as he watched her choke. The expression on her face was priceless, until she was able to swallow, that is. "Well, you almost had me there," he said seriously, not liking the fact that she was able to lead him on like that.

Tenten gave him a quick peck on the cheek and watched as a blush creeped on his face. She smiled and chewed on the rest of the onigiri, giggling slightly. _I can't tell him the truth. I can't hurt him like that, because...I think I really love him. _"You're so funny, Sasuke," she taunted, watching his blush increase a hundredfold.

"Hurry up and finish your nikujaga," Sasuke sighed, standing up. "I have to go finish my ninjutsu homework. You can unpack your stuff and make yourself at home."

"I was planning on doing that with or without your permission," she joked back.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"If you aren't going to tell me, then I'm just going to have to look for him myself," the figure said with irritation, prepared to walk past Hinata.

"Hey, stop!" Hinata ordered, blocking the person's path. "I want you to tell me why you broke into Tenten's house and ruined everything, now!"

Kei took a step back as her eyes widened. Although she didn't know Hinata well, she knew Hinata was not the type to stand up to people like that, no matter what the situation was. But Hinata, at that time, was determined to find the answer. "I don't have to tell you anything," Kei said stubbornly, trying to push her way past the young Hyuuga.

Hinata took a sharp breath in, squeezed her eyes closed, and rammed Kei into the wall. Hinata then took a step back and furrowed her eyebrows, clenching her fists. "You and I know I'm not the violent type, but if you mess with my friends, I swear you'll see a side of me you'll never wish you saw. Now answer me: Why did you break into Tenten's house and ruin her life?"

Kei coughed violently and brushed her shoulder off. "How do you know it was me?"

"Because Tenten stated the perosn had green eyes, and you're the only person who has green eyes that would do such a terrible thing! She saw you running out her house, passing through the front of her yard."

"Impossible," Kei spat, "I didn't take the front route. I had too many things to carry."

Hinata gasped and took a step back. "Y-You're lying!"

"Tenten probably told you a whole bunch of things were stolen," Kei stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "If the person you saw running through the front was empty-handed, how do you think everything was stolen?"

"Y-You stole it before and came back to ruin everything!" Hinata insisted desperately.

Kei shook her head. "I wouldn't have enough time to go to her house then mine, carrying all of that heavy stuff."

"But you were there!"

"Yes, I was," Kei stated smartly. "I was _one_ of the duo who trashed her house."

Hinata paused, trying to figure out what Kei was implying. Duo meant two, therefore there was one other person. Kei had green eyes, but she was not the person who Tenten saw. So that meant another person with green eyes had taken part in this heist. But who else had green eyes, that knew Tenten was out that night, and knew where she lived? Who would know which items were the most important and expensive, and who knew where Tenten's precious pictures were? _So, if Kei isn't lying,_ Hinata concluded, _then that means the other person must be..._ She paused, finally putting the puzzle together. Hinata lost her breath when the answer finally clicked in her head. "S-Sakura?" she asked quietly.

Kei's only response was a smug nod. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find Neji so we can come up with our date." And with that, she walked off, leaving a heart-stricken Hinata alone.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ino sat on the swinging chair in her backyard, wondering what she should do next with Shikamaru. _Should I talk to him? But now he probably hates me because I was so cold to him at school ever since I found out he got together with Temari. She isn't even right for him!_ She sighed and moved towards her desk, pulling out a plain piece of paper and a purple pen. She folded it in half, then half again. She roughly scribbled 'Shikamaru' on the front, then opened it. Ino wanted to write the apology right there and give him the note the next day. _But that nosey good-for-nothing bitchy whore Temari will probably get it by seducting Shikamaru right out of it. _Instead, she wrote:

Shikamaru,

We need to talk. Meet me at 3:30 at Ichiraku after school today.

-Ino.

_I'm going to talk to him tomorrow, no matter what,_ she thought with determination. _I'm going to tell him how I feel, to get it off my chest, and I'm going to accept the fact that he likes her. _She left the pen and paper where it was, then fell on her bed with her head on her pillow. She let out a scream of frustration and began kicking her legs on the bed rhythmically. Finally, when her voice began to crack, she stopped and lay her chin on the pillow. _Yeah right. I'm never going to accept the fact that Shikamaru is together with Temari. _Tears began welling up in her eyes as her heartbeat was only faint...so faint, she could hear the kids next door laughing, and their footsteps thumping on the grass as they played together.

Ino rolled over to her bedside table and turned on the radio. She lay on her back and stared at her dark orchid ceiling and gripped the sheets, clinging to them with all of her strength.

_How, how am I supposed to feel  
When everything surrounding me  
Is nothing but a fake disguise  
I don't know,  
I don't know where I belong  
It's time for me to carry on  
I'll say goodbye_

_I can't stop the rain from fallin'  
I'm drownin in these tears I cry  
Since you left without a warning  
I face the dawn with sleepless eyes  
No I can't go on  
When clouds are pushin' down on me, boy  
I can't stop, I can't stop the rain  
From fallin_

_So, tell me where I went wrong  
I'm stuck inside a dream long gone  
It's hard to reveal the truth  
Your love,  
Is nothing but a bitter taste  
It's better if I walk away,  
Away from you_

_I can't stop the rain from fallin'  
I'm drownin in these tears I cry  
Since you left without a warning  
I face the dawn with sleepless eyes  
No I can't go on  
When clouds are pushin' down on me, boy  
I can't stop, I can't stop the rain  
From fallin_

_Bullseye,_ Ino thought dispiritedly, closing her eyes tightly as tears continued to stream down her eyes. _Why did you leave me, Shikamaru? Why?_ After what seemed like hours of soft sobbing, Ino drifted off into sleep. And that sleep was filled with nightmares of how her meeting with Shikamaru the next day would be.

* * *

Okay, if you're wondering what Tenten's favourite food is, here's what they are: 

Onigiri: a rice ball made of cooked rice and normally wrapped with nori seaweed. It has things like umeboshi (pickled Japanese apricot), katsuobushi (dried bonito shavings), tuna, or salmon.

Nikujaga: home style cooking made of niku (meat) and potatoes (jagaimo).

Okay, as you can see, many things happened. I finally got Hinata and Kiba to break up so they could still be friends. Oh, by the way, if you didn't get what I meant with Kiba (_I'm glad I could make up happy, _Kiba said inwardly, smiling ruefully as he watched her find someone who would love her back), this is what I meant:

Hinata and Kiba got together, but Hinata liked Naruto. So Kiba let her go so she could be with the person she loves. That line means he hopes Naruto will like Hinata back so she'll be happy. Basically, Kiba actually likes her, but he's letting her be with the person she wants to be with. (I know this is sort of like what Neji did for Tenten in the previous chapter.)

Once again, there is no chapter preview. I will tell you, however, that Hinata confronts Sakura at school in the next chapter about breaking into Tenten's house. Also, Ino does have her meeting with Shikamaru

Please review! My goal is to have 50 reviews by the end of this story, although I'm not sure if I can reach it. But please try to help me! I have digital Million Dollar Cookies for everyone who reviews. (I made them with my friend friday night in real life )


	10. Author's Note

-sigh- Okay, this used to be an author's note. Me just being annoying and spazzing because of a math test. Me asking for reviews. -sigh-

Anyways, I'm REALLY sorry but you're going to be getting updates from the chapters after this. Why? Because I wanted to delete this, but apparently the reviews for the other chapters don't move either. I know it's going to be annoying, but please don't get angry with me.

With much love,

Alusy


	11. Confrontations

What you need to know:

"As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough" - speaking

As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough - what's happening

_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough _- thinking

**As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough **- Inner Sakura

"_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough"_ - Singing

_Text centered in the page with italics _- the song being sung by the artist

Summary:

Neji finds out Tenten is dating Sasuke. Hell breaks loose and disaster can't be far behind as new relationships form and old ones break. More pairings inside. Summary sucks. R&R!. Ch. 10: Confrontations

Official 'couples' so far:

Tenten X Sasuke

Sakura X Lee

Love triangle(s) to far:

Ino X Shikamaru X Temari

The reason I took so long was because of school. And because I've got a little writer's block. But today, we hardly did anything in school. Plus our teacher let us do anything in socials, so I wrote a little bit of this chapter . Exams are even closer...Saying this, the next few chapters may take a longer time to get up.

And thanks for putting up with my stupid note before this. I wasn't really in a good mood at the time because my friend was really pissing me off and I needed something to vent my angry.

**NOTE:** I put more Hinata in this chapter! And I put a little more Sakura.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters, to my dismay.

Chapter Ten: Confrontations

Shikamaru yawned and rolled around in his bed, as if trying to get out of the constricting bed sheets. He glanced at the clock and sighed. "I have twenty-two minutes until school starts," he said nonchalantly, slowly making his way towards his closet. As if his muscles ached in the process, he reached and grabbed the first shirt and pants he could, then threw them onto the bed. It ended up being a black t-shirt that said, "I'm awesome in bed. I could sleep for weeks," (given to him by Temari) and baggy jeans. He yawned again and tied his hair up into the regular ponytail, prepared to go off to school.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ino woke up with a start and the sudden banging on her door. She trudged towards the noise and opened the door, lazily peeking through one eye. "Sakura?" she asked groggily.

Sakura smiled and nodded. "Your parents are out of town?" she asked, examining the empty living room and lack of shoes near the door.

Ino nodded and got out of the way so Sakura could walk in. "Why are you here so early? I didn't know you could get changed that fast."

"Funny," Sakura responded, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She wore a black tank top and a pink skirt that ended just above her knees. She threw her white sandals off and plopped onto one of the couches. "And it's not early. You've got fifteen minutes to get ready and get to school."

Ino was furious at Sakura's casual attitude. She hated how she could say it as though it was nothing, and lie there smirking. "FIFTEEN MINUTES?" Ino screeched, rushing upstairs. She began throwing different tops and bottoms on her unmade bed, mumbling a few 'no's as she did. She ended up wearing a short-sleeved, cream, off-the-shoulders shirt, a white skirt that was a little shorter than Sakura's, and white knee-high socks. She tied her hair up high, and added an orange hair clip just for decoration.

Sakura could hear Ino talking to herself from downstairs. Sakura smiled regretfully and stared at a photograph on the side table. It was of Ino and Sakura when they were much younger, around six. They both gave peace signs, while trying to push the other out of the photo to be the star. _We've changed so much from then,_ she mused sadly. _I've made so many mistakes, worse than the ones in those days, and I can't correct them no matter how hard I try. People just...can't forgive that easily. _"But I can't blame any of them, especially Tenten and Lee." She stood up and walked to the beginning of the stairs. Her hands cupped around her mouth and yelled, "Hurry up, Ino! We've got five minutes!"

Sakura heard Ino scream out of frustration, and the footsteps thumping as she ran down. "Let's go, let's go!" she exclaimed, slinging her bag over her back and grabbing Sakura's hand. "We're going to be late!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neji stood outside, his posture straight, with a dignified look on his face. He glanced at his cell phone. Suddenly, a purple haired girl ran out, panting. Her bag straps were slipping from her shoulder, but she fixed it quickly. "S-So sorry!" she exclaimed between pants. "What time is it?"

"8:20," he stated indifferently. (A/N: I know I didn't put this before, but their school starts at 8:25am, okay? That's one minute after my first homeroom bell rings, and two minutes before the final bell. XP)

Hinata let out a small gasp and began jogging towards the school. "Let's go then!"

Neji sighed. His cousin was almost always late each morning. He wondered why she didn't just wake up earlier, or spend less time trying to find any article of clothing with orange on it. It was such a predictable routine, yet he knew it would never change. As usual, she began to slow down, and he caught up easily. The two walked in silence, until Neji decided to break the ice with a question. "Did you tell Naruto you like him yet?"

"Huh?"

"I know you and Kiba broke up, and I know you want to tell Naruto," he stated analytically. "If you're going to tell Naruto, I won't stop you for now. But you'd better do it soon before I change my mind, because Naruto isn't the brightest apple in the tree, nor is he one of the best people for you, Hinata."

"You approve?" she asked with disbelief, trying to make sure she heard him right.

"Hm," he responded, nodding subtly. "Just be careful."

"I will be careful, if you promise to do one thing," Hinata bargained.

"Oh?"

Hinata smiled roguishly and looked up at the sky, grabbing both straps of her bag. "You have to break it off with Kei, and get Tenten back."

"Back?"

"You always had her heart," Hinata stated in a matter-of-fact tone, "but you were just too thick to realize it. Now her heart lies with another, or so she says." She smiled and flashed a good guy pose, which petrified Neji for a few seconds out of horror. "Promise to keep up your end of the deal?"

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a yes. I doubt you want to go out with Kei, and I know you like Tenten." No response. "It's a nice day, isn't it?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ino and Sakura took their seat next to each other in their homeroom after grabbing their books and supplies. "Hey," Ino whispered quietly, "I'll be right back. I just have to give someone something." Sakura nodded and watched her friend scurry off. Ino looked once more at the note, wondering if to add anything more. She decided against it. And as if on cue, Shikamaru lazily walked in. "Shikamaru!" Ino called, running up to him.

Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow. _I thought she was mad at me. Why is she even looking at me? Normally she just scoffs and turns to one of her friends. _"Yes?"

Ino violently shoved the note at him, spun around, and walked away. _He'd better meet me there, that lazy fool,_ she thought threateningly.

"What was that about?" Sakura asked slyly.

"Nothing," Ino snapped back quickly, resting her head on her desk.

Shikamaru stole a few glances at Ino and tried to cover it up by ingeniously clearing his throat and snapping his neck at his homework. He brought his hands under the desk and carefully unfolded the note. _Meet her after school at Ichiraku? _He frowned and stuffed the note in his pants pocket. _It's going to be really awkward, that's for sure. Not to mention troublesome. _

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning passed slowly. Hinata sat at her desk for all of the three classes, zoning out as she wondered how she should approach Sakura about the recent news. Neji noticed this, and asked her if she was alright. Hinata immediately snapped out of her thoughts and laughed nervously, shaking her head rapidly, and exclaiming how she was fine. This was the same response she gave to Kiba and Shino.

Neji, in the meantime, was contemplating his part of the deal he made with Hinata. _How the hell am I going to steal her away from Sasuke without getting beaten up by either of them? _he thought angrily.

Finally, the bell rang, signalling it was lunch time. Hinata immediately grabbed her books. She ran to her locker, threw the books in, and grabbed her wallet before slamming the locker closed. _I have to find Sakura and approach her now before she meets everyone in the cafeteria, _she thought, weaving through the crowd of students aimlessly standing in the middle of the hall. The scanned the classrooms for a bobbing pink head, and sure enough, found it in the Ninjutsu classroom. "Sakura, I need to talk to you!" Hinata said quickly, pulling her friend out.

"Where are we going?" Sakura whined as she was dragged out the school and around the corner to the dumpster.

Hinata stopped and swiftly turned around, meeting Sakura's confusion with a serious face. "Why did you help Kei break into Tenten's house and trash everything?"

Silence. The breeze swept the leaves left on the ground, and the flowers shook their heads, as if motioning Hinata to drop the conversation. Sakura just stood there in silence, clenching her fists tightly, hoping for the best. "How did you know?"

Hinata was aghast at those words. She expected a 'where did you hear that nonsense from?' or 'what are you talking about?' But just then, Sakura admitted to commiting that sinful act. _Why? Why did you do it?_ Hinata didn't know what to do. She thought about what she would say during class, so she was prepared. But when she actually heard from Sakura's lips that she did assist Neji's fangirl, Hinata froze on the spot. "Kei told me," she said firmly. "Now tell me why you did it! The Sakura I know would never do anything like that to her friends."

"That's the problem with you, Hinata," Sakura spat deploringly. "You always try to see the good things in people, and ignore the bad. You need to open your eyes and see not everything is fields and flowers."

"Please don't try to change the subject," Hinata said in a soft voice. "You can tell me why you did it. I won't treat you any differently than I would if this never happened."

"Liar."

"I'm telling the truth!" Hinata exclaimed, pleading that Sakura would believe her.

"You may treat me the same way, but you will never think of me as the same person. Humans can never do that, no matter how hard they try," Sakura recited. Hinata gave no answer, as if the silence would explain itself. "It was because Sasuke is supposed to be mine! _I've_ known him for longer, and _I've_ liked him for longer! And when they got together, I just felt so...jealous! So I asked Lee to be my boyfriend because I knew it would tick Tenten off, but it isn't working as I planned! Then Kei approached me, saying that she knew I was jealous, and told me about her plan. That's when I decided to help. But I swear, I didn't take anything! I went in there to just throw a few things around, vent my anger, you know? Then I had to go to the bathroom, and when I came back, Kei was gone, as well as most of Tenten's possessions! And all of her photos were ripped up, with her blacked out, and I started to freak out. I ran out because I knew she was going to be back soon, and when I did, I saw her. She called out to me a few times, but I was so panic-stricken that I kept going. After that, I collapsed and woke up in my room. It was weird, though, because my parents weren't home, and I only found this note." She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket.

Hinata took the note and examined it. It read:

Sakura, be more careful next time.

"Who wrote it?" Hinata asked curiously.

"I don't know, that's the thing."

Hinata peered at it more closely. "It looks...familiar. Where have I seen this writing before?" She stared at it for a few more seconds before looking up at Sakura, whose eyes were drowning in guilty tears. "Would you mind if I kept this for a while?"

"G-Go ahead," the bubblegum haired girl stuttered in response.

Hinata pocked the item and nodded. "I'll see you later, but I give you this advice: Tell Tenten." And with that, Hinata walked off, leaving Sakura alone.

Sakura stared at the same spot. _Should I?_ she wondered, weighing out the consequences of each side. Her train of thoughts suddenly crashed as she heard an abrupt grumbling. Sakura looked down at her stomach, which was growling furiously. She rubbed it and thought, _Oh yeah, I still have to eat. It's a good thing I packed my own lunch this time, because all of the good food is probably already taken by now in the cafeteria._ Sakura glanced behind her once more, as if looking for a sign, and walked off. The rough wind blew through her hair, carrying her silent tears of regret.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sakura, is there something bothering you?" Lee asked with concern, looking into his girlfriend's red eyes.

Sakura shook her head and smiled. "No, it's just the wind was carrying some dust and sand, and some of it blew into my eyes. My eyes are just irritated, that's all," she assured. But Lee didn't believe her. He knew something was wrong, and refused to accept that answer. "Lee, nothing is wrong!" she reiterated, seeing the doubt in his eyes.

"If you say so, Sakura," he said unsurely. Lee sat back down in his chair and stirred the ramen in his bowl. Sakura smiled as well and sat down across from him, placing her tray down as well. Tenten, who sat next to Sakura, nudged her a little to catch the pink haired girl's attention.

"What?" Sakura snapped involuntarily, dropping her chopsticks in the bowl.

"What's wrong? Your eyes are red and you're crankier than usual," Tenten replied casually. "Is it that time of the month?"

Sakura looked down and frowned. "Yeah, that's it," she lied. "It's that time of the month already; I'm just really moody. You know how uncomfortable it is."

Ino shifted around in her seat, snatching a few glances at Shikamaru from across the table. He caught her a few times but decided to keep his mouth shut. "It's a nice day today, huh?" she asked randomly, twisting her lips into a convoluted smile. "Perfect day for cl---," she paused, "it's a nice day." She trailed off, realizing what she was about to say. _Stupid Ino! I can't believe I was about to say 'cloud watching'! Now everyone is going to think I was directing my momment at Shikamaru. _Her eyebrows furrowed as she made strange facial expressions, causing everyone to think she had a mental problem.

"Ino, are you okay?" Hinata asked in a worried tone, placing her hand on her friend's forehead. "You seem a little warm..."

"That's it!" Ino exclaimed. "I'm not really feeling well. I think I'm going to see the school nurse!" She laughed nervously, picked up her tray, and dashed off faster than anyone could say 'huh?'.

Everyone was silent at their table. The only noise was the sounds of chopsticks clinking against the empty bowls. "Yeah, it is a nice day," Naruto answered idiotically.

Everyone rolled their eyes and continued in silence, as if ignoring everything around them. Sakura didn't even hit Naruto for saying that, which confused everyone. Suddenly, Neji felt arms wrap around him from behind, and warm breathing against his neck. "Hey Neji!" a sweet voice sang.

Neji slowly turned around to come face to face with sparkling green eyes. "Hello Kei," he responded nonchalantly. "What are you doing here?"

Kei pouted playfully and bit her bottom lip, trying to pull off the puppy dog look. "You haven't forgotten about our date, have you? You promised to take me out a long time ago, and we still haven't planned anything!" She pushed Tenten over forcefully, who bumped into Sakura, who almost fell off of the bench.

Tenten almost puked when she saw the way Kei just waltzed up to their table. "Maybe I should go to the school nurse too," she said, standing up and a smug smile on her face. "I think I may be getting a cavity." Kei fumed at Tenten's comment, but decided to play it cool and smile like nothing happened. "I think I may barf if I stay any longer," she whispered to herself, but unfortunately Kei heard it, as well as everyone else.

"Then you wouldn't want to look in the mirror, would you?" Kei asked, smirking. "Making your condition worse won't help anything."

"Whore," Tenten hissed.

"Bitch," Kei muttered.

"I'm going to go see if Ino's alright," Sakura said, standing up as well. "And I wouldn't count on that date, if I were you," she whispered to Kei as she passed by.

"I wouldn't be counting on keeping those friends if I were you," Kei countered smugly.

**CHA! THAT GIRL IS GONNA GET A BEATING IF SHE DOESN'T SHUT HER MOUTH! **Inner Sakura screamed, flames of anger engulfing the kind side of her heart."You bi---"

Hinata cut Sakura off by clearing her throat quite loudly. Everyone looked at the Hyuuga girl, who lightly blushed and laughed quietly. "N-Naruto, could you help me with taijutsu?"

Naruto cocked his head to the side. "Why don't you ask Lee? I mean, he's tons better at---"

"That's a splendid idea," Tenten interupted through her gritted teeth and forced smile. "Sakura, perhaps you should visit Ino now, and I'll go...clean out my locker," she said, adding the last part in slowly.

Lee opened his mouth. "But your locker is always cle---"

"Ahahahahaha, Tenten's right!" Sakura laughed nervously. "Her locker is so messy! She needs to clean it really badly because it looks like a tornado hit it." **LEE, YOU'RE SO DENSE SOMETIMES!**

Tenten shot Sakura an 'if you don't shut up I'm going to punch your lights out' glare, picked up her tray, and robotically walked away. The whole time, swears were running through Tenten. It was like one of those movies you rent at a rental shop; on the case, they have how many swears are there. And, like Tenten's mind at the moment, some videos say they lost count at 200.

After the long rant in her head, she finally reached her locker. Tenten swung it open and stuffed her wallet in her bag. "A messy locker, hm?" a mysterious voice asked smugly. Tenten slammed her locker shut to come face-to-face with Neji. "It's sounds like a cover-up to me."

"No wonder you're called the Hyuuga prodigy," Tenten said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "So, why are you here?"

"You don't want me to go out on a date with Kei, do you?"

Tenten snorted. "Another point for Neji Hyuuga. Wanna keep shooting for three?"

"Then I won't go out with her," he replied simply, ignoring Tenten's comment.

"What?"

"I won't go out with her."

"Really?"

"Yeah." They stood there for a moment, staring at each other. Tenten had a shocked look on her face, while Neji had his usual emotionless expression. "Well, I'm just gonna go now." He turned around and began walking away, proud of what he just promised. And he planned to follow that plan through. Suddenly, he felt something grab his arm...or someone. He turned around to see Tenten, looking down at the ground. Neji thought about walking away, but he decided against it. By the way Tenten was standing, he could tell she had something she needed to say.

"But, if you like her, then you can go out with her," Tenten said softly.

Neji was taken back. "What?"

This time, Tenten shot her head up and looked into his eyes deeply. "I said that if you actually like her, you can go out with her."

"I don't like her," Neji stated, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "And besides, I wouldn't go out with her if you didn't like her."

"Why not?" Tenten questioned curiously.

Neji could no longer stop the tugging at this lips. The smile stretched from ear-to-ear, which was a rare moment for the white-eyed prodigy. "Because I'd never do something that bothers you that much. You don't like her, it's obvious. And you have really good reasons. So dating Kei would just mess everything up." Neji shifted his weight from one leg to the other, fighting back a small blush. Tenten smiled and couldn't help herself. She felt her eyelids fall slightly as she leaned towards the boy before her. Neji was confused by her actions, but slowly leaned towards her as well. Their heartbeats increased as they leaned closer towards each other, their arms prepared to wrap around the other.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Temari slung her bag over her back and waved good-bye to her classmates as she stepped out the door. She held a package closely to her side, smiling as she walked. "Hey, Temari," a boy called. She stopped in her tracks and turned to see Kankuro.

"Hey, Kankuro."

"Where are you going to early in school? Not skipping again, are you?"

Temari scoffed. "That was a one time thing, and I was pretty sick. Anyways," she brought the package up with one hand, "I have to deliver this to Konoha High."

Kankuro rose an eyebrow with interest and smirked. "That's the school Shikamaru goes to, right? Don't do anything naughty while you're there." He wagged his finger back and forth.

"I'm not going to do anything," she said seriously, placing the package back at her side. "And after that, I'm going to skip off."

Kankuro opened his mouth, but before he could say a word, Temari dashed off, laughing loudly as she did.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ino lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! It's not like I can avoid Shikamaru until the end of the day. Heck, practically all of my classes are with him! And if I back out of seeing him after school now, he'll probably approach me himself or get someone else to. _"He may not be the type to do that, because he's so lazy, but he will. I've known him for too long."

"Are you talking about me, Ino?"

Ino shot up and stared at the figure, who was yawning lazily. "Shikamaru," Ino breathed quietly. "What are you doing here?"

He pulled up a seat next to the bed, while Ino sat up cross-legged. "I know you feel fine, but you came here, saying you didn't feel well. So, I'm thinking something else is bothering you." Then he paused and closed his eyes for a few seconds, then opened them again. "It wouldn't have anything to do with the note you gave me, right?"

Ino fidgeted around on the spot for a bit. "No, no way! I just stayed up late last night, and I don't feel good." She paused, then thought, _Okay, I'm going to tell him I love him. And if he doesn't love me back, I'll tell him I'm okay with him dating Temari. _She took a deep breath in. "Look, Shikamaru, I have something to say to you. I---"

"Shika-kins!" a sudden voice sang.

_Shika-kins?_ Ino asked, trying not to barf. _Are you freaking kidding me? Why is Temari here? That's the most stupidest, retarded...est...that's not a word, is it..._

"I thought you were getting ready to go to your next class!" Temari exclaimed, walking in a seductive manner. Ino really had to try hard not to puke. "Anyways, how are---oh," she said, her smile falling, "hi Ino. What are you two doing here?"

Shikamaru didn't seem to be worried at Temari's question. "Ino isn't feeling well," he shot a hidden glance at Ino, which luckily Temari didn't catch, "and I decided to visit her." Ino coughed and faked a sneeze, which was very realistic, to make it seem as though she had a cold. "Why are you here?"

Temari brought the package up happily. "I have to drop this off to Miss Tsunade."

Ino stood up and forced a crooked smile. "Well, I'll be off. Class is starting in five minutes." She nodded at Shikamaru, then turned to Temari. "I'll see you later." But Shikamaru knew the comment was directed at him, so he nodded anyways.

"I've gotta go too," Temari chirped. "I'll see you later, Ino. Bye Shika!" She walked over and gave him a passionate kiss on the lips, which Shikamaru was only half-returning. But Temari didn't seem to mind, or didn't seem to notice. Ino snorted quietly and walked away from the now making-out couple.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hinata was breathing hard, and it wasn't because she was tired. Well, she technically was, but not physically. She was tired of fighting back that rising blush that occured each time Naruto touched her. She blushed when he took her arms and showed her how to punch properly, when he placed her legs in the right position, and heck, even when he patted her on the back to congratulate her. Even when he breathed near her! Hinata even tripped once, and Naruto caught her. Of course, he was oblivious to the redness of her face, and asked if she was okay. Hinata squeaked and replied with a quick 'yes' before regaining her composure.

"Oh, look at that," Naruto said, pointing to the clock on the gym wall. "We've got five minutes 'till the bell. We should get going."

Naruto dusted himself off and began to walk towards the door. "Wait, Naruto!" Hinata called, grabbing his arm a little too hard. Naruto flinched and turned around, forcing a smile. "I need to tell you something!"

"Yeah?"

There was an awkward silence. Hinata knew what she wanted to say, but didn't know how to say it. "I..." she began, pausing once more. "I just wanted to say," pause, "your shoelace is untied."

Naruto looked down and laughed. "So it is! Thanks a lot!" He quickly tied it up and dashed out to his locker.

Hinata stared at the door, as if waiting for him to burst back in and ask what she was really going to say. But he didn't. She slowly walked over to a wall and faced it, staring at it with interest. She placed both hands on it and frowned. Then she began to bang her head on the door, asking, "Why? Why? Why?" repeatedly in a complaining, frustrated voice.


	12. What I Never Knew

What you need to know:

"As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough" - speaking

As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough - what's happening

_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough _- thinking

**As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough **- Inner Sakura

"_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough"_ - Singing

_Text centered in the page with italics _- the song being sung by the artist

Regular text centred - a poem being read out (only for this chapter)

Summary:

Neji finds out Tenten is dating Sasuke. Hell breaks loose and disaster can't be far behind as new relationships form and old ones break. More pairings inside. Summary sucks. R&R!. Ch. 11: Overhearing.

Official 'couples' so far:

Tenten X Sasuke

Sakura X Lee

Temari X Shikamaru (forgot them...)

Love triangle(s) to far:

Ino X Shikamaru X Temari

Sasuke X Tenten X Neji (psh, I can't believe I forgot to put this here)

Okay, exams finished like a week ago, and I sincerely apologize for not being able to update this story. I had major writer's block, and when I finally overcame it, the words just wouldn't flow through my hands, no matter how much I forced it. I kept opening this document and opening it how many times one day, and I only wrote a little bit each time. One time I swear I had this chapter finished, but I couldn't finish it, and I closed the document. After that, I kneeled on the ground and began slamming my head on the floor, repeating 'why?' over and over again. And does anyone actually read what I write here, or check my profile page to see if I can update or not?

**AND CONGRATULATIONS TO ****PandaChick100**** AS WELL FOR GUESSING SAKURA WAS ALSO ONE OF THE GIRLS WHO TOOK PART IN BREAKING IN TENTEN'S HOUSE!**

Thanks to my procrastination, I kept forgetting. I'd always remember to congratulate you **right. after.** I submitted a chapter -sweatdrop-. Sorry!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. And I don't own the poem Tenten wrote either. _**BUT**_ my friend does. She wrote it for english, and it got published in the yearbook. Oooo, the jealousy! Anywho, I do have permission from her to use it. Don't steal it without permission and credit!

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Overhearing.

Sakura briskly made her way to the nurse's room to visit Ino. It wasn't that Sakura wanted to visit Ino quickly. She was just threatened by Kei and the information that would spread by wildfire. A popular girl with information about another popular girl was sure to be juicy news, even to passing five-year olds who didn't even know who either girl was. Kei could end Sakura's life with the slip of a tongue, and Sakura did not like being in that position. She was normally one of the hunters and not the prey, if she was even either of them. But now...

"Sakura?" Shikamaru asked with confusion. He was just filling out a sheet of paper with a black pen. "You've been standing there for about a minute, now. Are you okay?"

Sakura disregarded the question, thinking she might let something slip. "Where's Ino?"

Shikamaru shrugged and placed the pen back down on the desk. "She left when Temari and I were...talking." He pointed to the form he just filled out and looked back at the pink-haired girl. "I realized she didn't fill out the form that's required, so I decided to for her."

"Oh, okay," Sakura said, turning around to look for her friend.

"Wait," he said quickly before she walked out. Sakura turned around and raised an eyebrow. She saw Shikamaru struggling to find his voice, by the strange look on his face and the figetting. "Could you just tell Ino that...I'll meet her after school. Tell her it's confirmed."

"Oh, 'kay," Sakura said again. "By the way, do you know where Tenten is?"

Shikamaru shrugged lazily and yawned. "I don't know, but I saw Neji heading towards her locker before I came here. Who knows? They could be making out right now."

Sakura fake gagged with disgust, but laughed it off and went to find Ino.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neji and Tenten's faces moved closer and closer. The two could hear each other's breathing, knowing the other was nervous. Suddenly, Tenten stopped, brought her arm up to her mouth...

...and sneezed.

Neji let go of Tenten and slammed his back against a locker. "Bless you," he muttered sheepishly.

Tenten paled and let her arm fall back to her side. She licked her chapped lips and sighed. "I'd better find Sasuke... He promised to help me with ninjutsu." She slowly twirled, and walked away. Tenten sighed and regretted her decision. But she wasn't sure which decision it was that she was angry at. _Am I angry because I went to kiss Neji, or because I didn't kiss him? Stupid Tenten! Stupid stupid stupid!_ It wasn't only that fact, though. The biggest problem was that she was still in love with Sasuke, and almost kissing Neji made her feel extremely guilty.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neji stood in the same spot he was in when Tenten left him. Slowly, he walked over to a solid wall, and slammed his fist against it. "Bless you? _Bless you?!_ What the hell is 'bless you' supposed to do?"

"According to what you said," another voice spoke up, "it's supposed to indicate you blessed the person, probably because he or _she_ sneezed."

Neji whipped around and frowned at the sight of the person. "Hinata," he said cooly, regaining his composure. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "I see your meeting with Naruto didn't go very well?" A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips, and Neji did nothing to stop it. He let out a smug chuckle, his ego inflating by the second.

"It went as well as your meeting with Tenten," Hinata retorted. Pop; there went his ego.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tenten walked down the empty halls, wondering where everyone was. Her friends were normally done eating quickly, and would just hang out around the school in random locations. What if they saw her almost kissing Neji, and jumped to the wrong conclusion? If Sasuke found out, not only would he break up with her, but the rest of her friends would chew her out as well. "Hey, Hinata!" Ino's hushed voice rang from around the corner. "I need to talk to you privately."

Tenten sneaked up to the corner and pressed her back against the wall. "What is it, Ino?" Hinata asked.

"Is there something wrong with Sakura?"

_I knew there was something bothering Sakura! _Tenten thought, moving a little closer to the corner so she could hear.

There was a momentary silence before Hinata answered. "You promise you won't tell anyone? Especially Sasuke or Tenten?" Ino made no noise, but Tenten assumed the girl nodded and the two pinky promised. "Okay, you know when someone broke into Tenten's house?" Silence, but Ino probably nodded again. "Sakura teamed up with Kei to do that."

"No way!" Ino exclaimed, her mouth gaping at her friend.

"It's true," Hinata said faintly. "But Sakura said she didn't want to steal anything or ruin Tenten's posessions like the torn pictures. She said she went there to throw a few things around. But she went to the bathroom, and when she came out, she said everything had been done. I don't know if I can believe her, but Sakura seemed really desperate. I told her to tell Tenten, but I'm sure she hasn't yet, because it seems to be eating away inwardly at Sakura." Hinata paused and meditated on whether to tell Ino about the note or not. She decided against it, thinking it wasn't that important. "And that's the story. Promise you won't say anything, Ino! You have to keep this to yourself. And no dropping hints, no matter how small. Got it?"

"Yeah," Ino said quietly, still trying to grasp the point that Sakura took part in the crime.

_S-Sakura?_ Tenten thought, tears building up in her eyes. She began shaking, and she had to run away before they heard her fingers trembling against the wall. _I can't believe she did this! After all we've been through together as friends, and she does this to me! I can't believe her jealousy lead her to do this. What the hell am I supposed to do now?_ Tenten slammed her back against a wall and slid down so she was sitting. She hugged her knees close and began to cry, hoping nobody would find her, especially Sakura, Ino, or Hinata. The place she chose to hide in was a corner that was rarely visited anyways. _It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!_ she cried, rocking back and forth. Suddenly, her sobs became uncontrollable, and they increased in volume, no matter how hard she tried to muffle them.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke opened the door to his locker and chucked his wallet into his bag. After the awkward meeting with Kei, he needed a breather from the tension in the air. He sauntered down the halls, trying to ignore the swoons coming from the fangirls on either side of the hall. _What part of 'taken' don't they understand? _he asked as he heard a girl screamed, "PLEASE GO OUT WITH ME!"

"Hey, Sasuke!" someone called from behind him.

_Great. I hope it isn't another fangirl._ He turned around to come face-to-face with Ino and Hinata. "Oh, hey."

Ino had a worried look on her face. "Do you know where Tenten is? I swear I saw her running down the halls, but I'm not sure if it was her. She seemed distressed."

Sasuke felt a pang in his heart. "N-No, I haven't seen her since since she left the cafeteria," he stuttered. "Do you know why she might be distressed?"

"No," Ino lied. "Just tell me if you see her." And with that, Ino and Hinata ran left down another hallway.

_Where could she be? _he thought as he ran down a different hall. _Distressed? Why didn't she tell me if there was something wrong? She knows I'm here for her whenever she needs me! Have I done something to make her not trust me? I mean, I don't think she knows about that time when I brought Sakura back to her house. And it isn't that big of a deal anyways, is it? _(A/N: Congrats to MoriMori for being the only person to guess who it was!) The echoing of sobs crashed his train of thought. "Tenten!" he called out loud, rushing to the sound.

He turned the corner to find his girlfriend on the ground, crying her heart out. "Tenten, it's Sasuke! What's wrong?" He kneeled down next to her and took her into his arms. She began sobbing into his chest, desperately trying to stop. "Shhhh, it's okay. I'm here for you. Just calm down." He began stroking her head softly, whispering comforting words that didn't seem to get through her head at that time.

"Everyone hates me!" she sniffed, finally calming down slightly. "People are keeping secrets from me, but telling everyone else. I overheard Hinata telling Ino just a few minutes ago that Sakura was with Kei when she broke into my house and ruined everything!" She continued to speak, but her sobs made it impossible to understand. Sasuke could only sit there, with her in his arms, trying to grasp the fact that Sakura had actually taken part in it.

_Is that why I found Sakura outside?_ he thought, trying to push Sakura out of his mind. It wouldn't help the situation if he continued nagging himself about being more suspicious, so he dropped it. "You can tell me anything, Tenten," he soothed. "You know I'll always be here for you. I swear on my life." Tenten's sobbing decreased until she was merely sniffling occasionally. He planted a soft kiss on her forehead and smiled pleasantly and pulled her into a hug.

She wrapped her arms around him, and whispered into his ear, "Thank you." They stayed like that for a few seconds, then broke apart at the same time. "We don't want to get caught with PDA."

"Public display of affection?" Sasuke asked, smirking slightly. "If Jiraya can get away with spying on girls, then I'm sure we're fine with a little hug." Then his eyes darted around and moved closer to whisper, "But I guess we can't be so sure with Tsunade, right?" He pushed himself off of the ground and offered a hand.

Tenten giggled and accepted his offer. He pulled her up gently and the two dusted themselves off. Sasuke's soft finger ran across her cheek, wiping a tear away. Tenten snorted and wiped the rest of her face, glad her eyes were no longer red. "Well, since we're here," she said sheepishly, "could you explain ninjutsu to me? I don't get it, and I need to pass the class."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow comically. "Sure, then I'll teach pigs to fly."

"Shut up!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tenten sat in her ninjutsu classroom with a bored expression on her face. She didn't get the jutsu her teacher was trying to teach her, and quite frankly, she wasn't interested in it. Her only specialty was weapons, and a bit of taijutsu because of Lee, but that was it. Even Sasuke wasn't able to explain it enough. He explained the handsigns, and where she had to concentrate her chakra, but no use. She pulled out a piece of paper and began scribbling down a poem that was stuck in her head. She never thought it would be the right time to think about it, until that day. After hearing Ino whispering to Hinata about what Sakura did.

"Tenten," Kakashi interupted, crashing her train of thought, "is my class that boring?"

_By the sounds of your tone, you don't seem so excited either,_ Tenten thought, giving Kakashi a know-it-all glare. "No, Kakashi-sensei, I was just taking some notes."

"Could you read them out loud, please?"

Tenten would have pulled her hair out if she could, but that would only make her look even more suspicious. She would have repeated what Kakashi just said, but he wasn't listening to a thing he said. That class was just so...boring. His tone made it even worse. Kakashi was in a bad mood, ever since Jiraya failed to meet the deadline for the new volume of his book series. And he made it apparent that he was taking it out on his class. "I uhhh..."

"Read the paper, Tenten," Kakashi said a little louder, still maintaining his monotone.

"But...they aren't notes, actually."

"Oh, okay then," he said, smiling kindly. "You don't have to read the notes... Just read what you wrote."

Tenten sighed and ran a hand across the top of her head, messing up her bangs. Unfortunately for her, ninjutsu was the class that she shared with all eleven of her friends. How ironic was that?

"Today I found a friend,

Who knew everything I felt.

She knew my every weakness,

And the problems I've been dealt.

She understood my wonders,

And listened to my dreams.

She listened to how I felt about life and love,

And knew what it all means.

Never did she interrupt me,

Or tell me I was wrong.

She understood what I was going through,

And promised she'd stay long.

I reached out to this friend

To show her that I care.

To pull her close and let her know

How much I need her there.

I went to hold her hand,

To pull her a bit nearer,

And realized that this perfect friend I found

Was nothing but my mirror."

A wave of murmers swept across the room. Neji caught, "What's her problem?" and "That's plain bull. She has so many friends she can trust."

Sakura exchanged guilty looks with Ino and Hinata, who merely shook their heads with disappointment and gave expressions that said 'it isn't our fault, it's yours.' Choji, Shino, and Kiba exchanged glances as well in a suspicious manner. Sasuke stared up at Tenten with empathetic eyes. Their eyes locked when Tenten looked down, and he gave her a compassionate smile. She returned it half-heartedly and sat back down. Lee looked at Neji, then at his female friend. He was left out with the recent gossip, because Rock Lee wasn't the type to listen or spread gossip. Therefore, he had no idea of what was going on. "What have you done?" Lee whispered to Neji, not even giving him a glance. Neji stayed silent.

"Excellent poem," Kakashi said with the slight interest in his voice, "but this is ninjutsu. Let's get back to work, people."

Tenten wiped her forehead and sighed, staring down at her empty desk. _Stupid sensei._

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bell rang, signalling the end of school. Hinata immediately stood up, picked up her books, and walked over to Naruto's desk. He was just waking up from sleeping through the class, and rubbed his tired eyes. Hinata placed her books on his desk and took a deep breath in. "Hi, Naruto," she greeted casually, trying to stop the heat from rushing to her face. "I-I have something I want to say to you."

Naruto looked up and smiled toothily. "Oh, hey Hinata! What's up?" He stood up and began to pile his textbook, pencil case, and planner ontop of his binder carelessly.

Hinata felt her mouth form a squiggly line as the words tangled on her tongue. "I think---you are---I like you."

Naruto didn't seem to be listening. He chuckled giddily and twirled his pencil around coolly and dropped it back in the case. Suddenly, his ears perked up and he turned to Hinata with a confused expression on his face. "Wait, I'm sorry. What did you say?"

_Oh no!_ Hinata thought, panic striking her like lightning. _What if he doesn't like me back? I don't want to make a fool of myself. Should I just tell him I didn't say anything? It was a joke? He misheard me? Nothing happened? I could say I'm Neji! I just...got my hair cut to look like Hinata's, dyed my hair, and decided to wear women's clothes! I overheard Naruto telling Sasuke that Neji looks gay... But he wouldn't fall for that! What do I do? _

So many thoughts were running through Hinata's hand. Her eyes widened with each sentence, causing Naruto to worry a little. She was so occupied, though, that she didn't notice Naruto's hand waving in front of her face. "Hinata," he called, puzzled. "Hinata. Hinata, are you okay? Hinata? Hinata!"

By then, the classroom was practically empty. "She's screwing everything up!" Ino hissed to Kiba as the two peeked in the room from outside. "And Naruto's stupidity isn't helping either!"

Kiba sighed and looked at Ino. "And what are you going to do about it?"

The look of pure evil that spread across Ino's face caused shivers to run up and down Kiba's spine. Ino opened her mouth wide, squeezed her eyes shut, and screamed in a Kiba-like voice, "GET ON WITH IT ALREADY, HINATA!" The moment that snapped into Kiba's head, his eyes widened with horror as his eyes shot to the couple's direction. Hinata twirled around, and Naruto's neck snapped up. Kiba switched his subject to Ino, who was already running down the hall.

"K-Kiba?" Hinata asked with a shocked expression. She tried to stop the blush of embarrassment, but failed miserably.

"Hey, Kiba!" Naruto exclaimed, squinting to get a better look at the dog boy. "What did you say that for? What are you doing spying like that? Forget something?"

"W-WHAT?" Kiba bellowed. "It...it wasn't me! I mean...it was! I errr...forgot my pen and I...errr...hey, look over there!" He pointed to the window, and both students turned their heads in that direction with bewilderment. And with that, Kiba dashed off like his posterior end was on fire.

Naruto looked back to see his classmate gone. "That was strange," Naruto said, scratching his head idiotically. "So, what did you want to say, Hinata?"

Hinata's face turned a bright red, with embarrassment, nervousness, and anger. "I LIKE YOU, OKAY? DID YOU HEAR ME?" She automatically covered her mouth. _I was supposed to think that, not say it! Oh my gosh! _Naruto merely gaped at the white-eyed girl. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to yell!"

"Uhhhhhhh..."

* * *

Okay, I know this chapter was shorter than the usual ones, but I really wanted to get a chapter up. It's almost been a month, right? I'm terribly sorry! I didn't mean to make you guys wait so long. Anyways, I hope this chapter was okay. Don't forget to review I'm not as into this fanfiction as before, so I just want to make sure people want me to continue it, because I do have another fanfiction starting. 


	13. Heal My Wounds

What you need to know:

"As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough" - speaking  
As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough - what's happening  
_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough _- thinking  
**As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough **- Inner Sakura (and I guess Inner Neji in the later conversation)  
"_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough"_ - Singing  
_Text centered in the page with italics _- the song being sung by the artist

Official 'couples' so far:  
Tenten X Sasuke  
Sakura X Lee

Love triangle(s) to far:  
Ino X Shikamaru X Temari

Okay, I got this chapter up like 2 weeks before I thought I would (check my profile page.) I hope I didn't forget any couples. I'm losing track of everything now. Curse my bad memory!

And WOOT! 31 story alerts and 31 people have this on favourite stories! That means more reviews...? -insert strange, constipated smile here xD-

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters, to my dismay.

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Heal My Wounds

Hinata stood there speechless. Every word she tried to say, and every phrase she formed in her head, would choke her. "Hinata," Naruto said softly, his voice caressing her skin, "did you just say you like me?" Hinata couldn't muster her voice, so she squeezed her eyes shut and nodded. Naruto's mouth formed a straight line, seriousness taking over his face. "I don't know what to say."

Hinata's eyes shot open as she looked up at Naruto, seeing a side of him she never did before. _He looks...like his face is made of stone. So serious...like Neji or Sasuke. What is he going to say?_ Hinata felt something grab her gut and twist it around, but she remained still, looking into his blue eyes. She waited for him to say something, like those romantic movies she would watch with Ino, Sakura, and Tenten, but nothing came. "O-Okay," she whispered, turning around quickly to hide the small tear rolling down her cheek. But before she could move, something, or someone, had wrapped his arms around her like she though she would slip into eternal darkness.

"Please, don't leave," he said in a pleading voice, holding her even tighter. He moved his head next to hers so his lips were next to her ear. "I really like you too, Hinata." And so the two stood there, wishing the moment would last forever.

"I told ya they'd get together!" Ino exclaimed in a hushed voice to Kiba.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "I know, that's why I broke it off with Hinata." _So she could be with the person she actually wants to be with. _"Don't you have somewhere to be?"

Ino looked at her watch and gasped quietly. It said 3:24. (A/N: In my story, they end at 3:10. It adds to the effect that Ino must be on time...errr...don't ask.) "I'm going to be late!" She grabbed her purple schoolbag and zipped down the halls. She weaved through the people who didn't leave school yet, which included some of her friends such as Choji and Shino.

"Hey, Ino!" Choji called as she ran by. "I need to te---"

"No time!" she interupted, jogging in place. "I need to be somewhere in four minutes. Tell me later!" And thus, she continued to run through the halls. Ino glanced at her watch as she rounded the corner at Ichiraku. "3:29," she panted between breaths as she sat down. "Shikamaru should be here any minute now."

**---------------10 minutes later---------------**

"ARG," Ino yelled, scaring a few people passing by, "WHERE IS THAT LAZY-ASS?"

"Hey, Ino," a lazy voice called, "keep it down, would you?"

Ino whipped around, steaming shooting out of her ears, and saw Shikamaru take a seat next to her. He just took his finger out of his ear, which was placed there in hopes to lower the volume of Ino's barks. "I had to run here from school to be one minute early, and you take your time to be ten minutes late?"

"Nine minutes," he responded coolly. Ayame, the daughter of the owner of Ichiraku, welcomed them and asked what they would like to eat. Both ordered miso ramen and thanked her. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Ino, who was anxiously folding the same napkin over and over again, stopped and folded her hands together on the table. "I know I may have not been so supportive about you and Temari. I mean, I was probably snobby, rude, obnoxious, and selfish." She inhaled deeply so she was completely relaxed. "But I just want to say that I'm okay with you two being together. I know you might not believe me, but I am! You guys do go well together, and I was blind to not see it."

Shikamaru didn't respond, but Ino didn't want to press on the subject. Both of them broke the chopsticks in half so there were two (A/N: I don't know how to explain that, but you know what I mean). They each ate some of their ramen until at least half of the bowl was empty. "Temari and I broke up earlier today."

Ino spit out the noodles and soup in her mouth back into the bowl accidentally. "What?" she asked with bewilderment, wiping the rest of the soup and noodles that didn't make it back into the bowl with the folded napkin. "But you guys were just m---" she didn't find 'making-out' to be a very good work to use, "---together---"

"You were going to say making-out," Shikamaru interupted. "I know. But we broke up."

"Why?"

Shikamaru shrugged and placed his chopsticks across the top of the bowl. "I don't know. I just didn't feel anything between us. I mean, I admired her from a far before. But after we got together, I guess I realized nothing was really there."

Ino felt guilty. "You didn't break up with her because of me, did you?"

"Don't think so highly of yourself, Ino," Shikamaru said coldly. "That is how the mighty fall."

Ino felt his hands grab her heart and pull it apart into two pieces. _He doesn't like me. What did I do? Was it something I said? _She tried to open her mouth, but she ended up choking back a sob and nodding repeatedly. She found her hand moving to her face to wipe the forming tears. Ino didn't want him to see her that way.

"You'll only get hurt if you put yourself so high," he continued. His eyes slowly averted from his ramen bowl, drifting to Ino. He saw her desperately trying to hide her tears and felt guilty. _I was too hard on her._ "I didn't mean to hurt you, Ino," he said softly, placing one hand over hers. "I just wanted to warn you."

The tears only kept coming, and neither of them knew why. "S-Shikamaru?" she sniffed, trying to stop her voice from wavering.

"Hmmm?"

"You hate me, don't you?" Her voice was pained, like she was being tortured. "You think I'm a slut, don't you?" She swiftly moved her hand away from his and grabbed her wallet from her pocket.

Shikamaru felt his voice cracking. "No, Ino, I----"

"Thank you, Ayame," Ino said in a near hysterical voice. "The ramen was very good." She placed some money on the counter, grabbed her school bag, and ran off.

"Wait, Ino!" Shikamaru called, throwing his money down, grabbing his bag, and running after her. "Ino, just wait a sec!" She was moving too fast for him, slowly getting out of sight. Suddenly, she stopped running and seemed to be trying to hide at the side of the road. "Ino, wait a sec." He grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"Oh my gosh, aren't you Shikamaru Nara?" Ino squealed.

Wait. Squealed? Shikamaru knew Ino was bipolar, but she wouldn't be able to change her mood that quickly, especially in the condition she was in before. And she wouldn't be able to change her eye colour from blue to brown, nor her clothing from--- "Sorry, wrong person," Shikamaru said shortly before dashing towards Ino's house. As he neared closer and closer, his speed began to decrease dramatically, until he finally stopped only meters from her house.

_If I talk to her now,_ he thought, _she won't listen to me. She's probably crying right now, and I'll only make her sadder or angrier. It would be best to just speak to her tomorrow or the day after. Maybe I'll get Sakura, Hinata, or Tenten to tell her I need to talk to her. _He opened his bag and dug inside for a piece of paper and a pen. When he found it, he folded the paper twice so it was smaller, then scribbled on it:

Ino,

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or hurt you in any way. I don't think you're a slut, although you do wear clothing that can be a little too revealing. But that isn't the point. The point is, is that I'm sorry. Really, truly, sorry. And...I love you.

-Shikamaru.

He folded it once more, then wrote Ino's name on the front in his messy masculine handwriting. He slowly walked to her front door and slipped the note under it. _Love is so...troublesome_, he thought, as he walked away from her house.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ino walked downstairs to grab a tub of ice cream to eat. It was a habit she had whenever she was depressed. Normally, she would invite Hinata, Tenten, and Sakura over, but she was sure they were busy. As she passed her front door, she saw a white piece of paper on the ground a few centimeters from the door. Ino carefully picked it up and looked at the front. Her name was written on it in familiar writing. _I'm not in the mood to read anything from him,_ she thought angrily. She continued to the kitchen, with the note in hand, and opened the freezer. She grabbed the bucket of vanilla ice cream, a spoon, and headed upstairs.

Ino stared at the note, deciding on whether to read it or not. She stuffed a spoonful of vanilla ice cream in her mouth and let it melt. "It's probably some apology note," she thought out loud. "But I know he doesn't like me. Everyone, even my friends, think I'm bitchy. Is it my fault I'm not perfect? Nobody is!" She angrily threw the note at her desk. "I hate it when people pity me! It makes me feel so low!" After furiously shoveling mounds and mounds of ice cream into her mouth, she finally came to a slow stop. _And now I'm throwing myself a pity party. Woot woot..._

Before she could continue sulking in her problems, the doorbell rang. _I swear, if that's Shikamaru, I'm gonna crack. _She pushed herself off of her bed and headed downstairs. She looked through the peep hole in the door and saw blonde hair and teal eyes. Ino unlocked the door and opened it. "Temari?"

"Hey," Temari said sweetly, waving. "Can I come in?"

Ino seemed suspicious of Temari's motives, but nonetheless, let her in. "Sure." Temari stepped in a looked around the house, surveying it.

"Nice place you've got here," she said, observing a decorated vase on the living room table. "Are you home alone?"

"Yeah," Ino replied. "My mom is working at the flower shop, and my dad is off on another mission."

Temari nodded and looked up at Ino. "Cool." She placed her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. "Look, I know you don't really like me because I dated one of your best friends."

"No, I really don't mind," Ino lied.

"You can't hide it," Temari insisted. "I know you like him too. But I didn't know that when I accepted the first date."

Ino nodded, although she didn't believe a single word Temari was saying. "So, why did you come?"

Temari absent-mindedly twirled her hair that was down for once. She sat down on the couch and crossed one leg on top of the other. She wore alight blue v-neck sweater over a white shirt, a long navy blue skirt. The outfit was topped it off with a jeans jacket. "Shikamaru and I broke up. Or, rather, he broke up with me. He said something about me not being what he expected. I broke down for a few hours. My brothers, even Gaara, kept asking if I was okay. But eventually I stopped crying and grasped the fact that he doesn't like me that way. It was perfect while it lasted, though."

Ino crossed her arms hand took a seat on the couch across from her. "And why are you telling _me_ this?"

"Because I want you to know I actually liked him." Her eyebrows knitted together and her chapped lips pulled into a frown. "I know there have been rumours going around saying that I only agreed to go out with him because you like him."

"Liked," Ino interupted.

"Fine, _liked,_" she corrected, using air quotations. "But they aren't true. I'm not like that."

Ino stared at Temari, waiting for even the smallest smirk to appear on her lips, or even a glint of mischief. But there was nothing. "Yeah, I have heard some rumours floating around here and there," she finally responded. The truth was, Ino and Temari had been rivals for a while. Ever since they had the same crush in elementary school. The boy chose Ino, but later cheated on her with Temari. Ino accused Temari of seducing her boyfriend, forcing him to cheat, but Temari defended herself and denied everything. Ever since then, Temari wanted to get revenge on Ino for making everyone think she was a whore. "But how can I trust you're telling the truth after what happened before?"

"Tenten trusts me," Temari said softly, brushing her bangs from her eyes. As much as Ino didn't want to believe that statement, it was true. Tenten and Temari had been best friends before the incident in grade seven. But after that, the two girls began speaking to each other less and less. Their communication was almost completely cut off because of summer break. Tenten only hung out with her other friends, and Temari hung out with other people. Eventually, they stopped speaking to each other because they went to different schools. But after Temari started dating Shikamaru, she began to see more of Tenten, and they became friends again. Not best friends, but friends. "Why can't you?"

Ino took a moment to think about the situation. She weighed her choices, then finally came to a conclusion. "Okay, I trust you."

Temari chuckled lightly, and Ino joined her, finally relieved. "You know, Shikamaru asked me out in the weirdest way possible."

Ino raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Oh? How did he do it?"

"He gave me a note."

Ino gasped. She felt her heart flutter like a butterfly just spreading its wings. "Really?"

Temari caught the glitter in Ino's eyes and stood up. "I guess I'll be going now."

"Are you sure?" Ino asked. "Do you want to have a drink or something to eat?"

Temari paused in thought. She clutched something in her jacket pocket, but then let go and pulled her hand out. "Nah, it's okay. I've gotta go babysit this kid, and the parents hate it when I'm not at least ten minutes early." She looked at her watch then sighed. "So if I leave now, I'll get there about five minutes early." Ino and Temari laughed lightly.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you later!" Ino exclaimed, walking towards the door.

"Yeah, it was nice finally clearing up the air between us," Temari agreed.

They both said good-bye, and Ino closed the door.

Temari continued walking down the sidewalk until she reached a familiar park. She, Kankuro, Tenten, and Naruto would always go there when they were much younger. Gaara would go as well, but he always either sat on a swing by himself, or under a tree. Even though everyone begged him to join them, he sternly refused.

Temari reached into her pocket and took out a package labeled 'food poisoning'. She smirked, shook her head, then threw it into the garbage can and continued walking. _It's not even worth it anymore. The fight had to end somewhere, and if I did anything, it would only continue. _

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ino rushed upstairs and grabbed the note on her desk. _Please, please, please, please!_ she chanted, unfolding it. She read the note, taking in each word he said. When she was done, she held it close to her heart and happiness overwhelmed her. She loved his honesty, and most importantly, she loved him.

Ino stumbled backwards and plopped onto her bed. She heard a 'squish' sound, causing her to stand up immediately. She looked down and gasped. Whatever she sat on, it was white and liquidy (A/N: Is that even a word? It is now) with white chunks in it. "T-THE ICE CREAM!" Ino screeched, rushing to clean it up.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tenten walked along the streets, heading home. She was listening to her iPod that Neji gave her for her last birthday.

_There's gotta be more to life_

_Than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me_

_Cause the more that I'm..._

_Tripping out thinking there must be more to life_

_Well it's life, but I'm sure...there's gotta be more_

_Than wanting more_

Kakashi asked her to stay after the bell because he had a few questions. Tenten was worried than he was going to ask what the poem meant, but agreed. Instead, he asked her if she was having troubles with what they were learning in ninjutsu. Tenten sighed with relief and nodded. After about half an hour of explaining, she finally realized what she misunderstood. She exclaimed a 'thanks' and rushed off.

He soft humming to the tune evolved into her quietly singing to the song. "_I've got the time, and I'm wasting it slowly. Here in this moment, I'm half way out the door. Onto the next thing, I'm searching for something that's missing. There's gotta be more to life than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me._"

She was so occupied with the tune weaving through her ears, Tenten didn't realize the tapping on her shoulder. "Tenten," the voice called. No response but continual humming. "Tenten." Nothing. "Tenten!" Finally, the person got fed up and pulled one of the ear pieces out of Tenten's ear.

"Hey!" she said, going to grab it again. Suddenly, she looked up and saw Neji staring at her, a little frustrated. "Oh, Neji! When did you get here?" Then she remembered the moment they shared a while ago and lightly blushed.

"I've been following you for a while now," he said stoically, looking down the road.

Tenten whispered a 'sorry' and took the other ear piece out. She wrapped them around the iPod and stuffed it in her pocket. "So, what's up?"

"Be careful."

Tenten cocked an eyebrow. "Of what? In general?"

Neji shook his head. "I called the date Kei and I were supposed to have off." Then he looked straight into her eyes. The lines on his forehead appeared, showing he was either stressed or not comfortable. "She started screaming at me, asking if it was because of you. I said you had nothing to do with it, but she doesn't believe me. Just watch your back."

"She's already done so much to me," Tenten breathed, her eyes slowly shutting. She stopped walking and stood there, barely swaying in the wind. "She barged into my house, turned one of my best friends against me. I mean, I want to forgive Sakura, but---"

"Wait," Neji interupted, taking her shoulders. "What did Sakura do?"

Tenten blinked rapidly, trying to stop the tears from swelling in her eyes. "S-She was with Kei. B-Both of them destroyed everything!" Tenten couldn't take it anymore. She threw herself at Neji and began crying in his chest. Neji just wrapped his arms around her and stroked her head gently, trying to calm her.

Neji's first instinct was to go over to Sakura's house and tear her to shreds for causing Tenten such pain. But jail was something he wanted to avoid, so he decided against that idea. He learned how to cheer Tenten up with years of experience. The only thing that really brightened her day was...

"How about we have a sleepover at Lee's house tonight?"

Tenten stopped crying and looked up at him with red eyes. She no longer looked sad, but...angry? She playfully punched his shoulder---Neji flinched because it was a little too hard---and gave a condemning look. "We can't just invite ourselves to Lee's house without asking him first! You of all people should know that."

Neji shrugged innocently. "Lee is a pushover; he'll give in if both of us ambush him."

"Neji Hyuuga!" Tenten gasped with disbelief, dramatically placing a hand to her heart. "Ask him now!"

"But---"

"Ask!"

Neji groaned and shoved his hands through his pockets. His fingers weaved through pieces of lint until his found his celll phone. He pushed speed dial number two and placed the phone to his ear. It rang twice until an over excited voice screaming, "HELLO, NEJI!"

Curse caller ID. "You free tonight?"

Lee seemed to think this over for a moment. "Well, I was going to ask Sakura if she wants to go out for dinner tonight." He drifted off into a sea of murmers about his beloved Sakura and how beautiful her bubblegum hair was or something like that. "Why do you ask?"

"Sleepover. Your house. Seven sharp." Neji left no room for objections.

Again, Lee pondered the thought. "Sure! Who else is coming?"

Tenten sighed then grabbed the phone (she was able to hear everything because of Lee's loud voice.) "Lee, you can't just let Neji boss you around like that. It's at your house, for goodness sake."

"TENTEN!" Lee exclaimed. "I did not know you are there as well! Would you like to come to the sleepover?"

Neji snatched the phone from Tenten, who shot him a glare. "Actually, I was thinking it's you, Tenten, and I. Are you free or not?"

"Of course I am!" Lee said, completely forgetting about his girlfriend. "Be over whatever time you wish. I will buy snacks and drinks, and clear out my living room."

"Okay."

Tenten moved her face towards the speaker of the phone and exclaimed, "Thanks, Lee!" It only took her and Neji a few seconds to realize how dangerously close her lips were to his.

"No problem!" And with that, Lee hung up. The dial tone echoed through their ears.

They blushed lightly, until Tenten jerked her head away and laughed nervously. "I guess I'll see you tonight," she said quietly.

"Hn." Tenten twitched at how annoyingly familiar that was to her.

_I forgot,_ she thought, watching Neji fumble with the pieces of lint in his pocket as he put his phone away, _Sasuke and Neji both say that. _"Bye," she said quickly, running towards her house.

Neji was going to follow Tenten, since his house was that way. _But it would be awkward if she stopped running and if I caught up._ He decided to take the long way, praying he wouldn't run in with Hinata. To him, it was getting quite annoying at how smart she was. That, and how she made everything Neji said and did seem so predictable. Being predictable was one of the things Neji hated, and Neji hated a lot of things.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke was out for an after school stroll. Or, that's what he said. The truth was, he was planning to pass by Tenten's house without even planning to. Did that make sense? It did in Sasuke's head. As he passed by her house, he saw a large truck drive into the driveway. The doors to the drunk burst open, and a few people walked out, carrying furniture. "What's going on here?" Sasuke asked one person.

"We're moving this furniture into this girl's house," she explained. "Poor girl. Her house was ransacked, and now she's trying to afford new furniture to replace everything else. Her couches were sliced at with knives, wooden tables were missing legs, and all of her dishes were broken on the floor. Personally, I'm doing this moving job for free. She's struggling enough to pay for the rest of the people here."

"Is she in there?" Sasuke asked. The lady nodded, and before she could continue talking, Sasuke zoomed into the house.

He looked around to see people replacing old, beaten up furniture, but Tenten was no where to be found. Finally, he barged into her bedroom, and sure enough, she was there. staring out the window. "Tenten," he said soothingly.

Tenten looked back to him, seeming to snap out of a daze. "Oh, hey Sasuke. What are you doing here?"

"I was just on a walk and I saw a truck pull up into your driveway." Tenten opened her mouth and let out a silent 'oh'. "Are you feeling alright?"

Tenten shrugged. "Yeah, I'm good."

Sasuke peeled his navy jacked from his white shirt and placed it onto one of the chairs. "Really, because that poem your read in ninjutsu didn't seem that cheery, and what happened at lunch didn't make you seem ecstatic either," he said. "Do you not trust me with your problems?"

Tenten chose not to to answer right away. "After hearing what Sakura did to me," she started slowly, choosing her words carefully, "I don't really know who to trust anymore. I'm not saying I don't trust you, it's just... I have to be more careful."

Sasuke nodded with understanding. Although he wanted Tenten to trust him with everything, he knew what she was going through was tough. "Do you wanna go out for dinner tonight? It's all on me."

Tenten smiled, but shook her head. "I'd love to, but I'm going to a sleepover."

"On a wednesday?" Sasuke inquired. (A/N: I have no idea what day it is in my fanfiction. If there is a specific day and if someone knows, please tell me in the review. I'll credit you.)

Tenten nodded. "Yes, Sasuke, on a wednesday," she said in a mocking tone.

Sasuke smirked. "Another one of these girl sleepovers?" He remembered the last one he went to. He wasn't welcome, per say, so he left a little after arriving. (A/N: He did, right?)

There was a pause, causing Sasuke to tense up. "Actually, I'm going over to Lee's to have a sleepover with Lee and Neji."

Sasuke frowned and tensed up even more. "Why only you three?" Sasuke knew Tenten had feelings for Neji for a while, but he chose not to say anything about it. _If they're left alone,_ he thought, staring hard into her eyes, _then...what if..._ "Do you promise me you won't do anything?"

Tenten felt insulted. "What are you talking about?"

Sasuke was pressured to yell at her for liking Neji, but tried to keep it under control. "Just promise me."

"Of course I promise!" she said incredulously.

"How will I know if you keep that promise?" Sasuke no longer sounded serious, nor playful. He sounded like he was spiritless and depressed. "Well?"

Tenten thought for a moment. Sasuke was being so interrogative and seemed like he didn't find her loyal. Then, an idea hit her. "I know how you'll know if I keep that promise or not."

* * *

Nothing really to say, except that this story is coming to the end. I think there will be...hmmm...3 more chapters at the most, then an epilogue. The epilogue will just be added for fun, though. Wondering what Tenten's idea is? Stay tuned for next time! 

**And here's the preview! Haven't had one of those in a long time...**

"Sakura, I want to talk to you." Sakura, who was animatedly chatting with Ino, slowly turned to see Tenten's hollow eyes staring into her own. "Privately."

Sakura looked a little uneasy, but Ino nudged her and gave her a serious look. Sakura gulped, stood up, then followed Tenten to a secluded room.

"I know you and Kei broke into my house," Tenten said sternly. "I want to know why."

Sakura couldn't believe her ears. _How did she find out? What will everyone else think if they find out? I have to do something! _Sakura silently screamed for help as she did the only thing she could think of. The next thing Tenten knew, Sakura was charging at her. "I'm so sorry!" she screeched before Tenten found her self slamming against the wall.

**That's the end of the preview! **Let your imagination run wild as you try to guess what Sakura would do to hide the secret!


	14. Beyond Appearances

What you need to know:

"As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough" - speaking

As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough - what's happening

_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough _- thinking

**As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough **- Inner Sakura

"_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough"_ - Singing

_Text centered in the page with italics _- the song being sung by the artist

Official 'couples' so far:

Tenten X Sasuke

Sakura X Lee

Love triangle(s) to far:

Neji X Tenten X Sasuke

Okay, well, I hope this chapter turned out well. I really wanted to get something up, because this story is almost done.

I hope I don't disappoint any of you with this chapter. I love reading reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters, to my dismay.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Beyond Appearance

Neji looked around, using the famous Hyuuga glare Hinata had not yet used. This was not what he expected. It was nothing like what he had expected! Neji Hyuuga planned a semi-quiet (remembering Lee was there) sleepover where they spoke about what happened and had...'fun' (or at least that's what Lee and Tenten called it) like last time. But no, it didn't meet any of his expectations. For one, it wasn't going to be semi-quiet. Why? Because Naruto and Ino were coming. Why were those two coming? Well, Tenten had to explain it to he and Lee when she arrived first without everyone else.

**FLASHBACK (to when Tenten just arrived)**

"Tenten!" Lee greeted as he stepped to the side to let his friend through. "Finally, we are all here. Let the fun begin!"

Neji rolled his eyes. He wasn't in the mood for Lee's version of fun. It was as fun as sleeping on a bed of needles with fire consuming his very soul. But if it made Tenten happy... "Actually," Tenten began, looking around uncomfortably, "we aren't the only ones coming."

"Wait, what?" Neji blurted out, anger rising into his voice.

Tenten dropped her bag onto the floor and forced a smile. "See, I told Sasuke I'm coming here for a sleepover with you guys, and he, well, he didn't really trust me."

Neji's eyebrows knitted together angrily. _He thinks I'm going to make a move on her!_

"So, I invited him to come."

"So, Sasuke is coming as well?" Lee asked, secretly hoping that was it.

Tenten sadly shook her head. "Well, actually, Sasuke is sort of uncomfortable," she noticably struggled for an excuse, then finally gave up. "Okay, I can't lie to you guys. But you have to promise not to tell!" Lee nodded solemnly and so did Neji. "Well, Sasuke is just uncomfortable being with Neji when there aren't many people around, so he invited Naruto and Shikamaru. But I don't want to be stuck with a bunch of boys, so I invited Ino and Hinata, and got Hinata to invite Sakura for me. Then Ino invited Temari, because apparently they're friends again, and Temari didn't want to leave her siblings, so Kankuro and Gaara are coming as well."

Neither Neji nor Lee knew what to say at that moment. If Neji released his anger at Tenten, saying he didn't want Sasuke to come, she might suspect something. If Lee said anything, Tenten would wonder where his warm, welcoming personality went. So instead, Lee said the only thing he could. "I have to go get more food!" With that, he grabbed his jacket and wallet, and dashed out of the door, leaving Neji and Tenten alone.

**END OF FLASHBACK (10 minutes after Lee left)**

Tenten fidgeted in her spot. She had unpacked her sleeping bag, tooth brush, tooth paste, etc. and was now flipping the buckle of her bag back and forth. "Look, I'm sorry if you're angry about this, Neji," she said softly, fixing her stare at the oh-so-interesting buckle. Neji didn't respond, so Tenten continued to speak, knowing he was waiting for more. "I don't know why he doesn't trust me," she lied, "so I had to find a way for him to trust me. I promise we'll have a sleepover next time, just the three of us. By then I'm sure Sasuke will trust me."

Neji didn't want to dawdle on something he convinced himself was so trifle, so he switched the subject. "Are you going to speak with Sakura?"

Tenten opened her mouth to respond with a rant, but closed it and replied with a quiet 'I don't know'.

Neji ran his fingers through his hair and brushed it back (A/N: I don't know how to explain it, but I hope you know what I mean. It's like when you run your fingers through your hair and brush the hair near your forehead to the back of your head...) It wasn't something Neji normally did, unless he was really troubled or stressed out by something. "I don't think you should," he said, carefully picking out his words, "unless you speak to her in private. J-Just---" Neji paused suddenly and his eyes widened. Tenten was equally as surprised. _Did I just stutter?_

_Did he just stutter?_ Tenten thought. "Neji," she said slowly, "do you have a cold?"

"No, I-I just...did it again." Neji fought back the sweat that was threatening to trail down his face. _Don't say you love her, don't say you love her, don't say you love her! _"I have a fever. I'm going to get something to drink." He stood up from the ground, held back the urge to blush madly at the cute, worried look on her face, and quickly walked to the kitchen.

It wouldn't be long until everyone arrived, and that didn't make Neji feel any better. _I need to talk to her alone, but Sauce-gay can't trust his girlfriend. Okay, well, I see his point. But I need to ask her seriously if she likes me or not! _He poured himself a glass of water and chugged it down in one gulp. As he placed the cup in the sink, something clicked in the great prodigies head. _Lee's gone,_ he thought, _and nobody is here yet. This is my chance!_

Neji turned around and quickly paced towards towards Tenten, who was sitting on the ground, and directed her gaze back to the same spot on the floor. "Tenten, I---"

Ding, dong. "I'll get it," Tenten said, standing up. Neji crossed his fingers behind his back and began praying it was the pizza boy. "Sasuke!"

Neji hung his head. _Of all the people,_ he thought, trying to gather himself.

"Hey Tenten," Neji heard Sasuke say as his footsteps signalled him walking in. "Is anyone else here yet?"

Tenten froze up, Neji was sure. He peeked around the corner to see her hands twiddling behind her back. Since Neji knew her for how many years now, he knew she was trying to think something up. "Well, Lee just stepped out to get extra food for everyone else, and Neji went with him."

There was the sound of a bag dropping as Sasuke finally came into view. He wore a long black shirt and navy blue shorts that ended around his knees. "So you're here alone?"

Tenten nodded and giggled as Sasuke took her hand in his. It was cold, but she didn't mind. They both sat on one of the couches that was pushed aside to make room for everyone and began talking. Neji stepped out of the kitchen. Sasuke's back was facing him, but Tenten caught the obvious hurt on his face. She quickly looked back at Sasuke and nodded to pretend she was listening. Neji continued standing there, as if waiting for Tenten to say something to him, but she didn't.

Neji caught on quickly. He let his arms fall limply to his side as he walked down the corridor. _I understand she could get into trouble if Sasuke found out we were together alone, but she didn't even look like she was sorry. _Neji pushed aside a chair that was blocking his way, not caring if Sasuke heard him, and finally found the backdoor. He opened it then closed it just as fast. _Maybe, if I'm lucky, Lee will still be at the store._

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once Sasuke arrived and Neji left, everyone else began pouring in. The Sand Siblings arrived next, then Ino, Sakura, and Hinata, then Naruto and Shikamaru. Finally, Lee and Neji arrived. Lee enthusiastically welcome everyone to his house and said he would get the food ready quickly. Everyone in a circular shape, occasionally chatting to each other. Neji took a seat next to Shikamaru and across from Tenten, but had no plan on sharing eye contact with the brunette.

"Hey," Neji whispered, blatantly turning his head to the genius, "why is it so awkward?"

Shikamaru yawned and leaned back, placing his hands behind him so he wouldn't fall. "Well, let's see. Sakura won't be speaking to Tenten because of what happened."

"You know too?" Neji asked.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Practically everyone here does." He paused then continued. "Sasuke is uncomfortable with having to spend the night in the same room as you. Ino's pissed at me. Temari and I just broke up, so I doubt we'll be talking to each other. And I doubt her brothers will be saying much to me or anyone else, considering they don't want to be here. What else... Hinata is with Naruto now. Everyone seems to be beating on Sakura mentally, throwing her glares. I heard she was caught cutting herself a few times by her younger sister. And Tenten is just all over the place."

"This is so screwed," Neji moaned, crossing his legs. "If only Sasuke was able to trust his girlfriend, we wouldn't be in this fucked up situation."

"No need for that language," Shikamaru sighed, "no matter how angry you are. But it's so troublesome."

"The situation?"

"Well, yes. But it's so troublesome how you can't see why Sasuke doesn't trust Tenten to be alone with you and Lee."

Neji clenched his fists and shot Shikamaru a dark look. "Isn't it obvious?" he hissed angrily. "Sasuke thinks I'm going to make a move on her."

Shikamaru rubbed his forehead and slammed his hand onto the wooden floor, causing everyone's head to turn. "It's because Tenten loves you back, you fool! He's afraid that if you make a move, she might not do anything to stop it. He's afraid that if Lee leaves you guys alone for even a split second, Tenten won't be able to control herself. You're more oblivious than Naruto when it comes to love!"

"And you're one to talk?" Neji retorted back, his voice laced with venom. "You let Ino slip away when you know she loves you. You threw her away like trash!"

"For your information," Shikamaru said, standing up and arching his eyebrows with pure hatred, "I've confessed." He balled his hands into fists and stomped to the kitchen, mumbling something about getting a glass of water.

_Great,_ Neji thought, shooting glares at everyone so they would stop staring, _there's another person mad at me. _Each time his eyes met with someone elses, their necks snapped in another direction and they began randomly speaking to the person next to them. Gaara was one of the two people that didn't look away. The two had a short staring contest before Kankuro struck up a conversation with Gaara, causing him to slowly turn his head away. The second person was Sasuke; go figure. Neji wasn't in the mood to stare at the boy. Tenten saw the two staring at each other, both hardly blinking. She stood up and cleared her throat.

"Okay," she said, catching everyone's attention, "I'm going to go see if Lee needs any help in the kitchen. You guys think of something to do _together_, so by the time Lee and I are back, we'll have something to do."

There were some murmers of agreement as people began to branch off into groups. They discussed different possibilities, but Ino demanded that they played truth or dare. "That's so elementary, Ino," Sakura stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "We should do something else!"

"Like wreck a house?" Ino asked quietly. She immediately regretted what she said when she saw the torn up look on Sakura's face. "N-No, Sakura, I didn't mean it."

"Lookie here, you little bitch," Sakura said, strutting over to Ino, "I'm not gonna take that shit from you. Now fuck off unless you want some trouble." The pink haired girl gave Ino an obscene hand gesture and stomped off to the bathroom.

Everyone stared at the hallway with wide eyes, barely able to see the bathroom door on the side. "What the hell was that?" Naruto asked. His tone was more serious than ever, and for once, no one was able to answer his question, or tell him how stupid it was. Because they were all thinking the same thing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lee dropped the tray of drinks, causing all of the glass cups to shatter once they hit the floor. "Lee, are you okay?" Tenten asked, peeking from behind the cabinet. She had heard everything that Sakura said, but tried not to say anything. She scurried over and began picking up the pieces of glass with her bare hands and placing them on the tray.

Lee, who didn't hear her, took a step back. He didn't know her hand was where he would step. He didn't know he would smash her hand onto the floor that was covered in glass. But he heard the bloodcurdling that came from his friend and wasted no time snapping his neck down. "TENTEN!" he yelled, grabbing her hands gently. "Are you okay? I am so sorry!"

Everyone else rushed to the kitchen to see Tenten kneeling on the ground and Lee apologizing and shouting. Her eyes were squeezed shut, tears brimming her eyes. She bit her lower lip so hard that a drop of blood trickled down her chin.

Lee was examining her right hand, which had small pieces of glass stuck on the outer layer of the skin. He took them out as carefully as he could, the pain still rippled down her arm. Blood stained his hands and hers as he dropped the small piece of glass below them.

"What happened?" Hinata shrieked, rushing over to her friend. She tried to move, but someone caught her hand. She whipped around and saw Naruto staring at her. "Let me go, Naruto!"

The blond shook his head and held onto her wrist tightly. "There are pieces of glass scattered all around them. If you go there, you could get hurt. And one more injured person is the last thing we need." He pointed to Lee, whose legs had shards of glass suck in them as well.

"Lee," Neji said, "where are your bandages?"

Lee looked up at Neji, still remembering what Sakura said. "I-In the bathroom cabinet. They should be right in front of you. B-But I don't have anything to clean our cuts." He looked to Sasuke. "Sasuke, could you please run to the store and get something? It isn't that far from here."

Sasuke seemed unsure. "I'll get it," Neji stepped in when Sasuke didn't respond.

"No, I'll do it," Sasuke insisted. He turned around and ran out the door without even grabbing his jacket.

Neji headed towards the bathroom and opened the cabinet like Lee said. Sure enough, the bandages were there. He grabbed them and rushed back to the kitchen.

When Neji arrived there, Ino and Hinata were already sweeping the glass pieces into the dustpan. "Neji," Ino said quietly, "go bandage Tenten up."

Neji was puzzled. Ino would have yelled at him, ordering him to bandage Tenten, then muttering something about him having to watch over her more. She always said it was his responsibility to make sure nothing happened to Tenten, although Tenten found it insulting to have someone have to watch out for her. Tenten was more of the independent type of girl, but she knew when she needed help. But Ino's voice was a soft demand, almost a slight beg.

"Why do I have to?" he asked.

Ino stopped sweeping, and Hinata crouched with the dustpan in her hand, not moving. After a few seconds, they both got to work again. "It's implied, isn't it?" Ino whispered.

Neji stood there for a moment, allowing the thought to sink in. "It isn't a bet anymore, brother," Hinata added, her voice barely audible. "This needs to happen now. Either you tell Tenten you love her now, or you just have to be happy with being friends and nothing more."

Neji decided not to answer that. He knew it wasn't necessary, anyways. He turned around and headed towards the living room where he knew she would be. Sure enough, Tenten slumped down in one of couches, her legs propped up on the table. Her knees were slightly scratched, but there was no bleeding. Her right arm rested on the armrests with her hand turned up so the deep cuts were visible.

Neji took the seat next to her and gently grabbed her right arm and scanned the hand. "There was no need for Lee to send Sasuke to the store," he said, unwrapping the roll of bandages. "The cuts aren't that bad."

Tenten wasn't sure if Neji was telling the truth. The cuts did look bad. They didn't look anything like the cuts Neji normally had when the two used to spar (Neji only got horrible cuts when he was having an off day. Tenten didn't think Neji knew the meaning of an off day), but it sure hurt.

Neji carefully took her wrist and slowly began wrapping the bandages around her hand. He left it fingerless since there was hardly anything there (it was mostly her palm that was scarred.)

Tenten smiled warmly. She loved the look on his face; it was concentration, mixing with care and worry.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hinata dumped the glass into a garbage bag, which was doubled to make sure the glass wouldn't cut through. Ino jumped up onto the kitchen counter and sighed. "I'm worried about Tenten," the blonde said, staring out the window. Her gaze drifted to Hinata, who placed the dustpan and the broom in the closet.

The shy girl walked back into the kitchen and forced a smile. "I'm more worried about Sakura," she stated. "I'm sure Neji will work everything out,---" _I hope_ "---but we need to find out what's wrong with Sakura. Maybe it's that time of the month for her?"

Ino shook her head. "She was never that cranky any other time." She paused, then seemed to reconsider Hinata's suggestion. "No, you're right. I'm sure it's just that time of the month." Although both knew Ino doubted her assumption, but both only hoped.

Before either of them could comment again, someone knocked on the kitchen door and peeked in. "May I interupt?"

Hinata's smile extended from ear to ear. "Naruto!"

Said boy stepped in and practically pranced up to them. "Hinata, there's something I want to show you. Can you come with me?"

Hinata lightly blushed. She looked at Ino, who nodded and gave a thumbs up, then nodded to Naruto. "O-Okay," she stuttered. They took the other's hand and walked out of the kitchen.

Ino sighed in a lovesick manner. _Those two are so lucky they have each other._ She bit her lower lip and sucked on it boredly until the idea struck her. She suddenly remembered the note Shikamaru gave her, and realized she still didn't give him her response. _I have to go find him and tell him now! _The last Ino saw of Shikamaru, he stomped out of the living room towards the kitchen. But when she got there, Shikamaru was no where to be seen.

Ino pushed herself off of the counter and decided to wander around the house, looking for the pineapple-haired boy. As she exited the kitchen, she bumped into a pink blob. "Ino!" the person exclaimed. Ino looked forwards and saw Sakura staring at her with a worried look in her eyes. "I am so sorry for my outburst a while ago. It's just...it's that time of the month, and my parents got into this really big fight before I got here. And, and---"

Ino brought a hand up and smiled. "No, I get it. It's fine. Let's just go back to the living room."

Sakura nodded and followed Ino to the now full living room. A slight glint of evil flashed in her eyes, then disappeared just as quick.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke opened the door to Lee's house. He knew they left it unlocked, because, well, they were sure fifteen teenage ninjas could take care of whoever barged in. He stepped inside to find everyone either sitting on a couch, a chair, or on the ground, conversing. Then thing was, he noticed Neji and Tenten on the same couch. Sure Gaara sat next to Tenten---wait, Gaara? Was he in love with her too? Sasuke shook is head. _No, I'm just being paranoid. _

His gaze drifted to her already wrapped arm, clutching the bottle of antiseptic tightly. "I see you didn't need me to get this afterall," he said, approaching Lee.

Lee flinched at Sasuke's tone. "I am sorry! The cuts are not as deep as I thought they were. I am horrible at judging cuts. Neji had---"

"I know," Sasuke interupted. He glanced at Tenten and Neji, then the edges of his lips curved up into the smallest smile.

Gaara whispered something into Tenten's ear. She nodded and whispered something back. Neji and Sasuke were both watching the two until Gaara stood up. He gave Tenten one last look then went to sit next to his sister.

Tenten took a deep breath in as Sasuke took a seat next to her. "You okay?" he asked. Tenten wasn't sure if he was asking if she was emotionally okay, or if her hand was okay. Tenten nodded, then opened her mouth.

"Sakura, I want to talk to you." Sakura, who was animatedly chatting with Ino, slowly turned to see Tenten's hollow eyes staring into her own. "Privately."

Sakura looked a little uneasy, but Ino nudged her and gave her a serious look. Sakura gulped, stood up, then followed Tenten to a secluded room.

"I know you and Kei broke into my house," Tenten said sternly. "I want to know why."

Sakura couldn't believe her ears. How did she find out? What will everyone else think if they find out? _I have to do something!_ Sakura silently screamed for help as she did the only thing she could think of. The next thing Tenten knew, Sakura was charging at her. "I'm so sorry!" she screeched before Tenten found her self slamming against the wall.

Sakura's hands pushed against Tenten's shoulders, pinning her to the wall. "Sakura, what the heck are you doing?"

Sakura hung her head, her bangs casting a shadow over her face. After a few seconds, she looked up with a malicious grin on her face. "I can't keep this up for another second," she muttered. The pink-haired girl took one hand off of Tenten's shoulder and formed a hand sign. There was a quiet poof when Sakura was engulfed with white smoke. A few seconds later, she emerged. But 'she' wasn't the 'she' she was before. (A/N: Okay, I know that was confusing...)

"K-Kei?" Tenten gasped.

Said girl released Tenten from her grasp and placed her hands on her hips. "I want to know how you found out Sakura did it."

Tenten took a step from the wall. "I want to know where Sakura is."

"Why should I answer you?"

Tenten shook her head. Before Kei could do anything, Tenten grabbed one of the chairs and thrusted it towards Kei. Tenten continued pushing it until Kei was trapped. She was unable to move to either side because of the legs, nor the back because of the wall. The only way was down, but Tenten wasted no time. She dashed out the door to tell everyone the news.

Kei jumped over the chair and ran out, hoping to catch Tenten before she made it. But she was too late.

Tenten stood in front of everyone. "Kei is here!"

* * *

Well, I don't have anything to say here. I'm at a writer's block again (believe it or not). I know how I want this story to end, but I need something to, you know...I can't explain it. No preview this time, I'm afraid. 

But I can tell you Ino is going to approach Shikamaru about the letter. And Lee and Sakura will have a talk. The real Sakura.


	15. And So It Ends?

What you need to know:

Well, you should know it by now...right?

Summary:

Neji finds out Tenten is dating Sasuke. Hell breaks loose and disaster can't be far behind as new relationships form and old ones break. More pairings inside. Ch. 14: And So It Ends.

Official 'couples' so far:  
Tenten X Sasuke  
Sakura X Lee  
Hinata X Naruto (Thank you to **Ehree** for pointing out that I did not add them XP)

Love triangle(s) to far:  
Sasuke X Tenten X Neji

This is NOT the final chapter, just letting you guys know. There are two more after this. The next one will probably be short, since it wraps things up. Then the epilogue, which will take place between 6-9 years later. I'm still figuring that out.

And well, here it is. I'm so sorry it took so long to get up. I almost gave up on this story because I wasn't interested in it anymore, but I got my inspiration back randomly. I just hope this chapter turned out alright!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: And So It Ends

Everyone stood up at the same time. "How did she get in?" Neji growled. "Did she do anything to you?"

Tenten shook her head, then paused. "Well, she pushed me against the wall but nothing bad. She disguised herself as Sakura! Sakura was never here in the first place." Then Tenten looked over at Lee, who looked extremely hopeful. "That means Sakura didn't say any of that stuff to Ino a while ago."

Lee's eyes twinkled with the usual sparkle of youth, then he turned around and faced the hall way. "Come out, you coward (A/N: He sounds like a knight!). How dare you impersonate someone in hopes of tearing down everyone else?"

There were a few clangs that sounded like Kei bumping into a few things on her way out, then she finally emerged. "Kei," Ino said, walking up to the girl.

"Be careful!" Shikamaru warned, taking a step forwards.

Ino pretended to ignore him, but couldn't help smiling inwardly. _He really does care,_ she thought, clenching her fists. "Get out of here," Ino said dangerously, spitting at Kei's shoes.

Kei gasped and moved her feet away. "That's disgusting," she scoffed. "These shoes are expensive. Not that you'd know, unless you go window shopping a lot."

Ino went to punch Kei square in the face, but Tenten yelled, "STOP!" All eyes drifted towards Tenten, who was now shaking with anger. Suddenly, she stopped and smirked, standing completely still. "You've come here to cause trouble. But why? I'm with Sasuke, and Neji is free. Last time I checked, you're Neji's fangirl."

Kei narrowed her eyes angrily. "You have every damn thing you want in the world. Have you ever considered the people you're stepping on?"

"If you mean you," Ino cut in.

"What, am I not good enough?"

Ino rolled her eyes and laughed hysterically. "You have money, you have looks, and you have boys falling for you here and there! And you're sulking and pouting and being a downright bitch, just because you can't get Neji to like you? And what did you do with Sakura?"

Kei smirked. "Sakura? _Sakura? _Why would you care? You stepped on her, _all of you!_ Besides, you think knowing where Sakura is will save you guys from the truth?"

"I'm gonna hit you so hard you're going to have to look up to look down," Tenten threatened, taking a few steps forwards.

Before Kei could retort, the door burst open, revealing a furious Sakura. "YOU!" she yelled, pointing at Kei. She launched herself at Kei, beating her up so she bled almost everywhere. As they fought, with Kei miserably losing, Tenten noticed that Sakura's eye was somewhat purple. Sakura continued swearing, roaring insults until Kei was knocked out.

She picked Kei up by the collar, spat in her face, then dropped the unconcious girl. "What the hell was that?" Naruto asked.

Tenten slowly walked up to Sakura, and brought her into a tight embrace. "What happened to your eye?" she asked quietly.

The two broke apart and stared into each other's eyes. "Well," Sakura said, beginning her story, "I went over to Kei's house because she said she was going to give me your belongings that she stole. I was unsure if that was the truth or not, but decided that I didn't really care if I got into trouble. It turns out it was a trap. She punched me," Sakura gestured to the purple-coloured eye, "and I was knocked out. When I woke up, I was tied to a chair and gagged. After what seemed like an eternity, Neji was passing by her window. I screamed as loudly as I could and began jumping up and down, trying to slam the legs of the chair on the ground to make more noise. Luckily, he heard me and freed me. He said he was going back to Lee's house, and asked if I wanted to go with him. I said I'd rather stay, but in the end, after half an hour of sulking, I decided to go. And here I am. It's a good thing I was able to get Kei."

"I'll say," was all Tenten could muster. Nobody else besides Tenten and Sakura could hear the conversation, and none of them wanted to eavesdrop. Instead, they started their own quiet conversations.

Sakura kicked at her own feet, clasped her hands behind her back, then let out a deep breath. "I know you're going to think I'm saying this because I like Sasuke. I'll admit, I still like him. But that's not why I'm going to say this: you need to break up with him. Stay friends, but just let it go. Neji loves you more than Sasuke could ever, no matter how hard he tries. Neji took all of your things from Kei's house back to your house and placed them in the exact same spot they were in before. Neji was the one who was with you when your parents died. He's the one who cared for you when Lee left for a month vacation and everyone teased you for having no parents. And you two have been friends for the longest time! 'Love is built on the foundation of friendship,' as someone once told me."

"Lee?" Tenten asked automatically without thinking.

Sakura nodded. "But you don't have to listen to what I say. I'm just blurting out some things I've been thinking about for a while."

Tenten shook her head and smiled. "No, I think I am going to take your advice. I'm going to break up with Sasuke tonight." She paused in thought, pondering all of the events that occured over the past weeks. The tragedies, the humour, the angst, the love. "Do you really think Neji and I would work out?" Tenten said finally, just barely loud enough for Sakura to hear.

There was no immediate answer, which could be a good or bad sign. It showed Sakura was really thinking about it, and Tenten was going to receive a truthful answer. However, it also proved there was no one hundred percent guarentee that she and Neji would be a better couple than she was with Sasuke. "Honestly?" It wasn't a question that required an answer, so Tenten remained silent. Sakura didn't speak for a few more seconds, then, finally, "I'm sure you two will be fine."

It wasn't what Tenten had expected. She thought Sakura would either say "Of course it will work out!" or "I don't know" or even "You won't know unless you try." But, like Tenten wanted, it was an honest answer. She and Neji would be 'fine', whether they remained friends or whether they got together.

Lee walked up to the two girls. "May I steal her away from you?" he asked Tenten, gesturing at Sakura. Tenten nodded. "Sakura, please follow me."

The two walked away, towards a secluded room. Tenten watched and plopped down in a chair, closing her eyes. _At least Sakura and I are friends again, _she thought optimistically, faintly smiling.

Ino, who watched Lee walk away with Sakura, sighed. _Even though Lee looks ugly,_ she thought,_ he's sweet. Maybe I could give him a makeover and date him instead. Then again, I don't think I have enough money to make him look anywhere near as handsome as Sasuke. I'd have to complete change his hairstyle, pluck his eyebrows, and change his clothing. But what can I do about his eyes? Hmmm..._

Ino's thoughts were cut off by someone roughly clearing their throat. Ino look up to see Shikamaru standing over her. "Hey, Ino," he said casually.

"Hey," Ino replied, breaking out of her thoughts. She fidgeted a bit in her seat and looked up to see his eyes wandering everywhere around the room except at her.

"Nice shirt," he said, referring to her white tie-front babydoll top once he actually had the courage to look at her.

"Nice zip-up sweatshirt," she responded, referring to his green sweatshirt that went down to his hips.

Shikamaru shifted his weight to his other leg and shoved his hands in his pockets. "So, you got my," he cleared his throat again and lightly blushed, "letter?"

Ino flushed and nodded subtly. "Yeah."

Shikamaru waited for her to say more, but he realized she wasn't going to after about twenty seconds of silence. He expected a 'I love you too' or a 'I'm sorry, but I don't feel the same way.' But nothing. "And...?" he asked hopefully.

Ino felt her heart pulsing through her whole body. Her head was throbbing, waiting for her to say what she wanted to say. "And I..." She paused and gulped loudly. "I-I...Shikamaru, I just..." Tears filled in her eyes.

Shikamaru immediately felt the pain of rejection. He forced a smile, but instead it looked more like he ate a tub of sour keys at the same time. "No, it's okay. You don't have to say it. Really."

Ino looked up and gave a watery smile, but it disappeared once she saw him turning around. "No, S-Shikamaru, wait!" Everyone was now watching the scene out of the corners of their eyes, but they all tried not to stare. Ino grabbed his hand and held it tightly, pulling him closer. "Shikamaru, I-I...I love you too!"

Shikamaru, who was trying to walk away and ignore Ino's voice, felt himself jerk to a stop. His mind raced as his heartbeat increased. "Ino," he breathed without turning around.

Ino let go of his hand and pushed herself off of the couch, only to wrap her arms around him. "I love you!" she repeated between sobs of happiness, tears trickling down her cheeks.

Shikamaru turned around in her arms and wrapped his own around her waist. "I love you too, Ino. I always will."

"Kinda makes you sick, doesn't it?" Kankuro asked with disgust.

Temari elbowed his ribs hard and frowned. "It's sweet that they can finally get together." She fished through her purse, took out her wallet, and found a ten dollar bill. "Here, Gaara. You win." She handed her other brother the bill, and he folded it and stuffed it in his pocket.

"You never give me any money!" Kankuro exclaimed jealously.

Before Temari could answer, Gaara's swift, dark voice cut in. "We had a bet. I said Shikamaru and Ino would get together before the end of school. Temari said Ino would sulk until the beginning of summer and she would get together with Shikamaru during summer break. We bet ten dollars, and I won it."

Temari rolled her eyes and growled sourly. She hated losing, especially to her siblings.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Take a seat," Lee said, pointing to a chair in the room. Sakura complied and sat uncomfortably in the chair. "Sakura, I---"

"I want to break up too," she interjected quickly, her cold eyes avoiding Lee's gaze. "I know you might have realized this already, but I only agreed to go out with you to get back at Tenten. But now that I'm her friend, I don't have to go out with you anymore."

Lee felt his heart crack, but he hid it. "I did not know that," he said quietly. "I overheard Shino saying that to Choji and Kiba, but I did not believe them. I could not believe them, because my image of you was perfect."

"Oh," Sakura said, guilt flooding her voice. After a few minutes of silence, she continued. "I only have eyes for Sasuke. I thought you knew that, Lee. I didn't think you thought I liked you back. But I can only say I'm sorry."

"Of course. Just wait one moment before we return to our friends." Lee walked towards a wooden drawer and began searching through it until he found a small, dulled golden bag tied with an emerald ribbon and topped with a bow. He closed the drawer and walked over to Sakura, holding the bag out. "This is for you, Sakura. I meant to give it to you before, but I was waiting for the right time. I guess it would be now."

"Lee," Sakura said, "I can't take it.

"It would be an insult to me if you didn't," Lee insisted.

Sakura paused for a moment, then reluctantly took the gift. She unwrapped it. "It's...beautiful." It was a silver barrette with a delicate pink lotus and two green leaves, one on each side of the flower. Looking closer, Sakura saw her first and last name engraved on the silver part of the barrette. "Thank you, Lee." She hardly felt anything by dumping him anymore. The guilt was washed away.

"Shall we go back?"

Sakura nodded, but not before placing the barrette in her hair. She clipped back one side of her long bangs.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto sat on one of the chairs with Hinata on his lap. He snaked his arms around her waist, causing Hinata to blush furiously. Naruto buried his nose in the crook between her shoulders and her head and took a deep breath in. "You smell great," he said, as though in a trance.

Hinata giggled at his breath against her skin. The two kissed quickly and blushed when half of the room whooped. Hinata caught Neji's eye and winked.

"Do you think Tenten will end up with Neji?" the purple-haired girl asked softly, turning to her boyfriend.

Naruto ignored the question and decided to answer another one that he knew was on Hinata's mind. "Sasuke's being pretty good about this. I mean, Sasuke knows Tenten is going to break up with him sooner or later and get together with Neji. It's obvious those two love each other. Sasuke could have broken up with her a long time ago."

"But other than that..."

"I'm sure Sasuke and Tenten will stay friends," Naruto cut in reassuringly, hugging his girlfriend tightly. "It's fine. Everything is going to turn out great, I promise."

_It wouldn't be the first time he broke a promise, _Hinata thought, remembering the incident many years ago. Naruto promised he would always be her friend, but left when he became a couple with the biggest whore in their school (in Hinata, Sakura, Ino, and Tenten's opinion) and did nothing when his girlfriend constantly picked on Hinata. "Alright," was all Hinata could mutter. She shifted around in his lap and leaned back, closing her eyes.

Kiba watched from the side, his lips twisting into a small smile. "She looks happy," Choji said seriously. "After everything Shino, you, and I put together, you knew those two would end up together. Same goes for Ino and Shikamaru." He whipped out two twenty dollar bills and fanned himself with it, throwing Kiba a wink.

"It's true," Shino said, joining into the conversation. He casually pushed his sunglasses up and took the last seat on the couch. "It doesn't seem like Sakura will be staying here for much longer either," he continued, gesturing with his head at Sakura and Lee, who just entered the room.

"Why do you say that?" Kiba inquired, cocking his head to the side.

"It's merely a guess," Shino replied. "Considering the fact that she'll probably have to face Sasuke and everyone else won't be easy."

"But Tenten forgives her, and nobody is mad at her," Kiba stated. "Even Sasuke and Neji are letting it go."

Shino couldn't help but grin, but it wasn't quite visible past his high-neck coat. "But that doesn't matter. It's just the way people will subconsciously think of her. They won't even mean it. Sakura is getting more and more paranoid with every passing day. She'll get the feeling that people are talking about her behind her back, like Tenten felt before. Eventually, it will tear her apart if she doesn't have anytime to herself. The only human thing to do is to run away from problems."

"Don't count her out just yet," Kiba said dangerously. "Anyways, what do you think will happen to Tenten?"

"I could give it a guess," Shino suggested. "Based on what we've collected so far."

"Your guesses are normally right," Choji said, laughing. "Like when you guessed Sakura was involved in breaking into Tenten's house."

"And when you guessed Neji was going to confess his love to Tenten after the movies," Kiba added.

Shino shook his head. "That one was obvious. The movie unconciously altered his lovesick mind, causing him to act like the teenager in the movie. Since his plan was successful, Neji's mind hoped to have the same outcome." Kiba and Choji rolled their eyes, not believing it was obvious for one moment. "But to answer your question," he said gravely, "she will break up with Sasuke. Judging by how she still likes him, but can't stop herself from liking Neji, and of course her age, it'll happen tomorrow around...3:15. After school. She'll take a few moments to pack everything up, catch her breath and meditate on whether she wants to do this or not, then head out and find him. Neji will likely be waiting for her outside, as well as Sasuke."

"How can you use her age in this equation?" Choji asked, stuffing a few chips into his mouth.

Kiba nodded with agreement. "She's eighteen. How does that change the result?"

"How her mind thinks." Shino's comment sounded he was getting more and more agitated with the questions.

There was a long silence, then Kiba smirked. "We're getting first row seats, right?"

"You're sick minded. How can you take pleasure in what could be Sasuke's pain? And Tenten's as well?" Shino questioned, frowning.

"Definately," Choji exclaimed.

"Thank you for agreeing," Shino said, pushing his sunglasses up.

Choji looked confused for a moment, then laughed. "No, I mean we're definately getting first row seats."

Shino frowned.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura stood up from her seat and cleared her throat. All eyes turned to her, despite their reluctance. "I'd just like to say," she said, continuing although her voice was slightly cracking, "that I'm sorry for all I've done. I'm sorry I did all of those horrible things to you, Tenten. You didn't deserve any of it. I'm sorry I used you, Lee. And I'm sorry for everything I've done in this past month, not to mention everything I've done in my life. I know it may be hard to forgive me deep down, but I want you guys to try." She bowed and hid the tears building up in her eyes.

Sakura's speech seemed to empower Ino, since she stood up as well. She flashed Sakura a confident look, then looked at Temari. "I'm sorry I've been such a bitch to you over the years, Temari. I'm not going to say you didn't deserve it, well, in my opinion, but we should have made up a long time ago. And Shikamaru..." She seemed to lose her voice, but regained it after shuffling her feet around for a few seconds. "I'm sorry I didn't realize that I like you as more than a friend---much more than a friend---before."

To everyone's surprise, then next person to stand up was...Neji? He cleared his throat gravely and took a deep breath in. "I'm sorry for pressuring you, Tenten," he said emotionlessly. No matter how hard Tenten tried to read his facial expression, she couldn't get anything. "And I'm sorry I haven't been a very good friend to you ever since you got together with Sasuke. It's just always been you, Lee, and I. I wasn't used to you dating. I mean, it isn't like I would have to get used to Lee dating---"

"Hey!" Lee exclaimed in protest.

"I'm kidding," Neji sighed, before muttering, "not." He looked over at Tenten, who gripped harder on her shorts. "And I'm sorry for being an asshole to you, Sasuke."

"What about me?" Naruto asked, standing up.

Neji rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'm sorry for Naruto being an ass too."

Everyone laughed lightly, even Sasuke and Tenten, who were extremely tense. Kiba, Shino, and Choji exchanged glances, then Choji finally stood up and looked as though he was about to burst with information. "I'm sorry too!"

Everyone was silent. "What did you do?" Ino asked slowly. "You were always on the sidelines. In fact, I don't think you were involved in anything."

"Kiba, Shino, and I sometimes spied on Tenten, Sasuke, and Neji to see what would happen. I even spied on Sakura after the movies and saw her break into Tenten's house with Kei. Shino followed Tenten and Neji after that and heard Neji's confession. And Kiba chased after Sasuke and saw him bring Sakura back to her house after she ran out of Tenten's house! I met up with Kiba there, and Shino came soon after. Then we ate ramen and shared everything! I'm so sorry!"

Ino stood up and cracked her knuckles. "N-No, it's not what it sounds like!" Kiba stuttered.

"YOU IDIOT!" Ino screeched, punching Choji as hard as she could. "YOU RUINED THE MOMENT!"

Choji rubbed his sore cheek and muttered a few words. "Anyways," Tenten chuckled, "we should get to bed now. It's two in the morning, and I've got my stupid ninjutsu exam that I still don't get."

"Tenten's right," Sasuke added. "Neji, Sakura, Kiba, Naruto, and I have ninjutsu as well. And we all know Naruto and Kiba need to study. They're even worse than Tenten at ninjutsu."

"Hey!" Tenten exclaimed, playfully whacking Sasuke across the head with a pillow.

Everyone had a few laughs, then slowly, one-by-one, they fell asleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke woke up in the middle of the night, and couldn't fall asleep. Beside him, he heard Tenten mumbling a few things in her sleep. He moved closer and heard her words. "Neji, I love you. I always have. Mmmm, Neji, I'm sorry." Tenten rolled over and hugged Neji, who was, of course, sleeping beside her. She muttered a few more things until she fell silent again.

Sasuke rolled over so his back faced hers and closed his eyes. _I'm going to do it now. _He took a deep breath in, rolled back over, then lightly shook his girlfriend. Tenten woke up with a start, then quickly let go of Neji and turned to face her boyfriend.

"What is it?" she moaned languorously, her eyes fluttering open.

Sasuke's face turned to stone. "Get up." It was an order, demanded in one of the coldest tones Sasuke ever used. Tenten opened her mouth to say something, but closed it when his eyes pierced through her own. In a split-second, his face softened, but his mouth was still a straight line, obviously not in any joking mood. "I know you're going to break up with me," he said finally.

"I-I'm really sorry!" Tenten said in a panicked tone, but quickly hushed her voice. "It's not you, it's---"

"It's just I'm not Neji, right?" Sasuke finished, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "Everything started screwing up ever since you and I got together, and I don't want to see you get hurt anymore."

Tenten, however, didn't find it funny. "I'm really sorry. It's just, each time I see you, I see Neji. And I've known him for so long, and I just fell for him one day. But then you asked me, and I guess it was the fact that you and Neji have a somewhat similar personality that attracted me to you. But I do like you, Sasuke. I guess...just as a friend. I really hope you understand."

"I understand, and I'll accept the fact that you don't like me that way, if you promise me one thing." His face hardened again, causing Tenten to flinch.

"W-What is it?"

"Make sure we still stay friends," he said softly, grinning.

"I promise," Tenten whispered. She yawned and stretched her arms out, prepared to fall back to sleep.

Before she plopped back on her pillow, Sasuke gently kissed her on the cheek, then landed his head on his own pillow. Tenten touched her cheek then smiled. _I'm going to do it,_ she though. _I'm going to tell Neji tomorrow. I'm really going to do it. _And with that, she drifted back to sleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay, settle down people," Kakashi said absent-mindedly, continuing to read his perverted book. The class continued to yell and scream. "I know it's the last class of the year, but settle down." Naruto was now dancing on four desks he put together, with Hinata desperately trying to get him down. "Fine, whatever, punks."

Tenten sighed and slammed her head on her desk. Neji sat in front of her and frowned. "I'm guessing the exam didn't go well?"

The brunette lifted her head quickly to show Neji the pissed-off look on her face, then swiftly contacted her head back to the desk. "I see," Neji said sarcastically. "I'm sure you knew the answer to at least one question."

Tenten seemed to switch her mood quickly, because she perked up and smiled. "Actually, yes! I knew one of the multiple choice questions. It was the one where they said, 'Which one of these is a ninjutsu?' There was Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu, Hakkeshō Dai Kaiten, and Shiki Fūjin. **(1) **It was obvious that Hakkeshō Dai Kaiten isn't the answer, because I know you use it, and it's a Hyuuga taijutsu technique. Then I knew it wasn't Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, because it's an illusion that there are more clones, so that's a genjutsu. Lastly, Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu is obviously a genjutsu, because of its effects. And I've never heard of Shiki Fūjin, so I chose that. See? Process of elimination!"

Neji tried not to laugh. He knew laughing would be impolite, not to mention cruel. So, he decided to just set her straight. "Shiki Fūjin was the jutsu the Third used on Orochimaru about two months ago when he died. It's a sealing technique, Tenten, not a ninjutsu."

Tenten's jaw dropped to the desk. She gave him the puppy dog eyes that begged him to say he was joking. "B-But then, what was the answer?"

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. The technique you were thinking of is a different one. Well, actually, I'm not sure what technique you were thinking of." The sudden distress on Tenten's face made Neji frown. "But I'm sure you got another question right. Like what Sōzō Saisei does. You should know, because Tsunade uses it."

"NO WAY!" Tenten exclaimed, slamming her head repeatedly on her head. "_That's_ the technique she uses? I thought it was Sōzō Saisen!"

"What the hell is Sōzō Saisei?" Neji inquired.

"I have no idea," Tenten whined, cupping her face with her hands. "But I definately got the function of Tobidōgu. I mean, I use it to summon weapons all the time!" She cleared her throat and proudly recited, "Ninja, since we are incapable of carrying too many items and/or weapons, we are able to store them in summoning scrolls. A small donation of blood is required to summon the items." She smiled as Neji clapped slowly.

"Congratuations," he said sarcastically.

"But, Neji," Tenten said slowly, tugging on her bangs, "I have to tell you: Sasuke and I broke up last night."

Neji cocked an eyebrow. "When?"

"He woke me up in the middle of the night and we just broke up. But we're still friends."

"That's good."

"Hey, Neji?"

"Hm?"

"Do you still like me?" Neji noticed the small blush the tinted Tenten's cheeks. _Great, he's going to think I'm a loser! I shouldn't have just randomly asked the question. Stupid, stupid, stupid! _"I-I mean, as a friend."

Neji also blushed lightly, and against his pale skin, it was hard to hide. "Y-Yeah, of course I do."

Suddenly, the bell rang. Everyone threw their books up in the air (except for Neji, Shikamaru, and Sasuke, because they're too cool), lead by Naruto of course, and hooted exclamations and cheers. "Neji, we have to go," Hinata said after pulling Naruto down from the desks. "My father is expecting us. He's planning your birthday, and---"

"Okay," Neji cut in, obviously disappointed.

Tenten watched as Neji picked up his books from his desk and threw them into his bag. All students were allowed to keep their bags in their last class so it was easier to get out. Neji slung his bag over his back, gave Tenten one more glance, then said, "I guess I'll see you later."

And just like that, he was walking away from Tenten. _I did not break up with Sasuke for nothing! _she thought angrily, standing up. "Wait, Neji!" She stood up from her seat, glad that the classroom was now empty except for the Hyuugas and herself. "Neji, I love you!"

* * *

Another cliff-hanger! -avoids objects that are being thrown at me- I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. I should be able to get it up by either tomorrow or Saturday, depending on if my mom drags me out. The latest should be monday (unless my mom takes me somewhere for the whole day every day). And the epilogue won't take long either...I don't think. Although it might be a long chapter, like my normal ones.

**&&AIHSWDE--**

**(1) **_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_: Shadow Clone Jutsu  
Used by Naruto.

_Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu_: Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique  
Used by Kakashi in episode four, I believe. It was the one he used on Sakura to make her see Sasuke all bloody, and she fainted. Remember?

_Hakkesh__ō Dai Kaiten_: Eight Trigrams Large Palm Rotation  
Used by the members of the Hyuuga clan. It's when they spin and their chakra surrounds them, reflecting the attacks (ie: kunais). The more powerful version of Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation).

_Shiki F__ūjin_: Sealing Jutsu: Reaper Death Seal  
Used by the Third Hokage on Orochimaru after Sasuke and Gaara's fight was interupted by the new war and Orochimaru threatened to destroy the Leaf Village. The Fourth Hokage used it too.


	16. Together At Last

You know the drill.

Summary: Neji finds out Tenten is dating Sasuke. Hell breaks loose and disaster can't be far behind as new relationships form and old ones break. More pairings inside. Ch. 15: Together At Last.

Official 'couples' so far:

Sakura X Lee  
Hinata X Naruto

Love triangle(s) to far:  
None.

Okay, here's the chapter. I am SO sorry it took so long to get up, but my parents kept dragging me everywhere this weekend! My dad took me to the mall, and my mom kept taking me to my friend's house. Plus I'm trying to plan something with my friends, but my mom is being a pain.

And I really wanted to get this chapter up now. I can't wait much longer, because my N64 (Nintendo 64, for all those who can't remember 5000000 years ago) is taking up the last plug and I don't want to turn it off, so my computer is running on its own battery...which is very close to dying now. No time to check over grammar or spelling!

And I am TERRIBLY sorry that you received like 8 messages saying I updated my other chapters. I tried deleting the author's note in chapter 10, but that messed everything up so I had to upload it again and I had to delete the chapters after that and upload them again. So frustrating...

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this! It's short, though. Extremely short.

* * *

Chapter Fifteen: Together At Last

Neji paused; Hinata gasped quietly, then felt around behind her for the end of the wall. _I should leave, _she thought, feeling embarrassed to be witnessing the situation. "You can do it," she whispered before exiting the room backwards. Hinata let out a small breath of relief, placing her hand over her heart. Just as she turned, a small, crouched figure on the ground gave an involuntary 'oof' as she accidentally kicked it. Hinata bent down to take a closer look at the person, who was wearing a black hood over their head. "S-Shino?" she hissed, sounding disappointed. "Why are you spying on them? Where are Kiba and Choji? I thought they would be here with you." She peered around in all directions, wondering if one or both of the other boys would jump her and force her to listen in on her cousin's conversation with them.

Shino smirked and pulled the hood down. "Kiba's probably waiting outside for Neji and Tenten to talk there. I told him last night that Tenten would proclaim her love to Neji outside at 3:15." He glanced down at his watch, then looked into the room quickly. "Considering the fact that it's 3:07, he should be smugly sauntering around outside, waiting for Choji and I."

Hinata touched her cheek and sighed. "To think you did this just to get front seats?"

Shino's eyebrows furrowed as he brought a finger to his lip and said, "Shhh!" He gestured Hinata to get out of the way of his view. "Go get Choji, would you?"

"What about Kiba?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neji clenched his fists and spoke softly, "W-What did you say?"

Tenten gulped loudly and began playing with her fingers behind her back. When Neji turned around, she avoided his gaze and turned her head down and to the left. "I-I said I love you. Did you not hear me?"

"I did," Neji replied, his ego filling once again. "I just wanted you to say it again."

Tenten fumed. "You're such an egotistical, full-of-yourself---"

"They both mean the same thing."

"Shut up!" she exclaimed before continuing to list attributes off. "Smug, cold-hearted, non-funny, troublesome---"

But before she could continue, Neji had swiftly moved towards Tenten in one smooth movement, and captured her lips with his. It was a soft kiss, until Tenten snaked her arms around his neck. Neji pulled her closer to him and tilted his head to the side, licking her lower lip.

"YOU TRAITOR!" Kiba's voice roared from the hallway.

"Kiba, you moron," Choji muttered, slapping his forehead.

Neji and Tenten immediately broke apart, blushing madly. They looked over to the hallway to see Kiba standing up, pointing an accusatory finger at Shino, and Choji, looking like a deer in the headlights. "W-Were you watching us?" Tenten stuttered.

"Shino started it!" Choji, Kiba, and even Hinata exclaimed, at the same time more voices shouted, "NO WE WEREN'T!" There was one, "NO WE WERE NOT," though, which caused the cog in Tenten and Neji's mind to click into place, knowing who one of the people was.

Neji and Tenten ran towards the doorway, and everyone looked to the other side of the hall (the opposite side that Kiba, Shino, Choji, and Hinata were at). Sakura, Ino, Naruto, Lee, Shikamaru, and even Sasuke were there, sweating wildly. Sasuke cleared his throat quickly and walked up to Neji. After a few moments of silence, he extended his hand. "Congratulations," he said, cracking a slight smile. As they shook hands, Sasuke moved closer to Neji's ear and whispered, "Take care of her."

"You know I will," Neji responded.

Tenten, who was demanding an explanation to why almost everyone was listening to their private conversation, didn't hear Sasuke and Neji's exchange of words. Ino stepped up and took a deep breath in, as if to present a large speech. "See, Shino told Hinata to get Choji and they bumped into Sakura, Shikamaru, Choji and I and we were waiting for Sasuke and Lee so we could plan a last day dinner and see if everyone else wanted to come, and Naruto who was there too glomped Hinata, and she accidentally let it slip that she was looking for Kiba too, so the five of us headed back to the classroom and went on different sides, then finally Kiba came and blew our cover, so here we are." She threw a deadly glare at said boy, who laughed weakly.

"That's a run on sentence," Shikamaru critisized, yawning slightly.

"Doesn't matter," Ino snapped back.

Their arguement ceased, though, due to the loud cracking on knuckles. All attention was turned to Neji and Tenten, who were making the sounds. "Shino," they both said in a deadly tone, an evil glint shining in their eyes.

"Gotta go," Shino said quickly, slippping his black hood back on as though it would hide him from his appending doom. Right when he began to run, Neji and Tenten were hot on his heels, chasing him down the halls.

"Don't run in the halls," Kakashi muttered, but it was drowned by the screams of Shino, Neji, and Tenten. "Whatever."

Naruto wrapped his arms around Hinata's waist and pulled her closer to him. "So, about that dinner," he said, smiling. "I think we should have it at Neji and Hinata's house."

Hinata nodded and lay her head on the blond's chest. "Good idea," she murmered softly.

Ino looked expectantly at Shikamaru, who stared back at her. "Shika!" she exclaimed, putting on the pout face.

Shikamaru couldn't help it. He had to give into that face; it was the face that almost guaranteed her everything. He quickly kissed her cheek and embraced her from the back. "Troublesome woman," he muttered, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair.

Sakura sighed and watched from the side. _If I didn't let my jealousy take over me, maybe things would have turned out differently._ She glanced over at Sasuke, who seemed equally as left out. _Oh well, the night is still young. _

"Well," Sasuke said, breaking the lovey-dovey moment, "we'd better go make sure Tenten and Neji don't tear Shino apart and completely destroy him. I mean, it'll be pretty quiet if Shino doesn't come and if Tenten and Neji are in jail."

"Shino hardly talks, though," Kiba stated.

"Shut up."

"And neither does Neji, sort of."

"Shut up."

"But Tenten talks," Sakura said, joining into the conversation. "So Sasuke's sort of right."

Soon after the conversation, the nine of them headed off to find their three missing friends. After they found them, they all glanced at their now ex-high school. As they walked away from their last year there, they all decided never to forget any of the memories from that whole year, even the bad ones. Besides, they all knew the upcoming good memories would outnumber the bad ones...right?

* * *

Right? Hmmm...perhaps foreshadowing? Nah, of course not! Why? Because this story is coming to an end... The epilogue will be up in a few days! Make sure you wait for it XP 


	17. Epilogue

For Old Time's Sake? I Mean, This Is The Last Time I'll Be Writing This:

"As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough" - speaking

As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough - what's happening

_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough _- thinking

**As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough **- Inner Sakura

"_As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough"_ - Singing

_Text centered in the page with italics _- the song being sung by the artist

This is the final chapter -sniff- It's Tenten's point of view, and takes place ten years later.

I couldn't choose between this one or the other one I wrote. One review made me question the epilogue I wrote, so thanks to them, I had to write a new one -coughMoriMoricough- XD Awww, I'm just poking fun. But I did write a new epilogue because I didn't think my other one was good enough...but that doesn't mean this one is any better.

Then I got my friend to choose, but she's busy watching anime, so I had to give a quick summary, and this is the one she chose.

And why did I want this up today? Why August 13th of all days? Because today is...

**MY BIRTHDAY! **-throws confetti- Yosh, happy birthday to me!

Disclaimer (I totally forgot that in the last few chapters I think): I don't own Naruto. I do own 8 mangas, a Naruto puzzle, a Naruto poster, 3 keychains. And now, thanks to my birthday, I own: A Naruto pencil case! A Rock Lee keychain! A Naruto necklace! AND a **ROCK LEE DOLL! **-snuggles-

* * *

I sat in the newly built restaurant that only opened at night, waiting for the rest of my old elementary and high school group to arrive. The wandering spotlight from the stage danced around from table to table, momentarily shining off of my ring. Yes, that's right; Neji proposed to me nine years ago, and we've been...sufficiently happy ever since. But sometimes his smug attitude still gets to me. "Arrogant jerk," I muttered, placing my elbow onto the table and keeping my head up with my hand on my chin.

"I'm sitting right here, you know," Neji's overconfident voice sounded, his eyebrow cocked slightly.

I forced a smile. "Why would you ever think I'm speaking of you?"

"Hn."

"Glad to see the happy couple!" a voice chirped, slithering out of the shadows. "How're ya guys doing?"

"Ino," I snorted, looking up at the loud blonde and the lazy ninja. "Don't be jealous of our relationship." I planted a quick kiss on Neji's cheek and smirked at Ino's pout.

"Whatever," she sang, plopping down in the seat beside me. Shikamaru took the seat next to Neji and they began talking, probably about how 'troublesome' having wives is. "Where did you leave Hitomi and Torimi?"

I took a sip of my water through the straw and placed the glass down again. "She went over to her friend's house. Where did you leave Cho, Inaka, and Hidzume?"

"Shikamaru and I thought Hide was old enough to watch his sisters." (A/N: If you didn't know, 'Hide' is Hidzume's nickname.)

"Cho and Inaka are twin hurricanes," I mumbled. (A/N: Cho and Inaka are twins, if that wasn't clear...X( )"They're just like you. You think Hide would be able to handle them?" I paused for a bit, allowing the information to sink in. She gave me a look that looked like she never even though about it. "Let me phrase it like this: Hide is like Shikamaru."

A gasp of realization escaped from Ino's rose-coloured lips as she turned to Shikamaru, who lazily glanced at his wife. They're the funniest couple ever. "It's fine," he replied simply, as though he read her mind. "Hide is probably sleeping, and Cho and Inaka are probably drawing on his face with permanent marker. I'll get it off of him later." Ino must have missed the 'permanent' part, because she merely nodded and turned to face the front of the table.

"You guys breed like rabbits!" I laughed. "I thought Shikamaru is lazy."

"He is," Ino said suggestively, "unless you give him the right treats."

I roared out with laughter.

"Look, it's Sasuke!" Ino shrieked. That tone made me remember the times when she and Sakura fought over him so many years ago. It was a great feeling.

Sasuke looked as handsome as ever as the same spotlight landed on him as though those punks directing it thought it would be funny. Sasuke is still single, surprisingly. Everything about him stayed the same, except he grew taller, gained a little weight (we all did I'm sure. Did I mention Ino was freaking when she stepped on the scale? I'll never forget her screaming), and his face matured a bit more. "Hey," Ino greeted slyly, "it's the sexy bachelor."

I laughed and watched as Sasuke sat down beside Shikamaru, a light blush painted on his cheeks. "You're so embarrassing, Ino," I stated. I looked over at Sasuke. "How are you doing?"

"More like what," Ino added.

Neji and Shikamaru coughed uncomfortably, and Sasuke shifted around in his seat. "Well," he said wordily. Not. Ino and I gave him the 'keep going' look, and thankfully, before Ino could spaz out, he caught on. "I've been going on a few more missions than usual."

"Still a virgin?" Ino inquired furthe, resting her chin on her bridged fingers. "Or did you and Tenten---"

"INO!" I screeched, giving her a hard punch to the shoulder.

"You shouldn't be saying things like that," another voice warned playfully.

All of us looked up. "Sakura," Sasuke said curtly.

"I came with these guys," she said, pointing to Naruto and Hinata, who waved.

"HIYA GUYS!" Guess who. Seriously, I dare you. I stuck my finger in my ear and whined.

"You're so damn loud," Shikamaru muttered.

Hinata smiled. "Hi everyone."

Sakura and Hinata took a seat next to Ino, who continued to rub her probably bruised shoulder. Naruto sat next to Sasuke. "How has everyone been?" she asked politely, clasping her hands and placing them on the table. "I mean, like, how are the missions, jobs, love lives," she listed, whispering the last part.

I felt bad. We all put the wrong actions behind us after we matured, but yet, there she was, her friends almost all married, sitting close to her old crush (or perhaps still-standing?), and trying to hold a smile. "You'll find someone," I said softly, smiling. "And when you find him, you had better invite us to the wedding." I flashed a quick glance at Sasuke, who looked uncomfortable, then saw Ino grinning evilly.

"Do you still like Sasuke?" she whispered.

Sakura looked around, then nodded slowly. Ino, Hinata, and I all squealed with glee. "You should totally make a move on him!" Ino added.

I caught dejected look in Sakura's eyes as she made a contorted facial expression. "I don't think he likes me much," she grimaced, twiddling with her thumbs.

"I spoke to him," I blurted out. Hinata eyed me from the corner of her eyes as she ordered a glass of water. Everyone followed suit. "He's willing to give you a chance, Sakura," I said kindly. Her eyes twinkled with hope as her mouth formed an 'o'. "It's been ten years. Nobody here can hold a grudge for ten years."

Before Sakura could reply, a cheery voice exclaimed, "Hello, my youthful friends!"

"Lee!" I exclaimed, perking up immediately.

"It is very nice to see you all once again. Kiba, Shino, and Choji are just outside."

In a few short seconds, the three remaining seats were filled with two smiling faces, and one non-readable expression. "So," Neji began, folding his hands in front of his face, "how is the business?"

"And the fangirls," Lee added.

"Business is booming!" Kiba exclaimed, flinging his arms around in celebration. "And the fangirls are attacking us like mad. But," he brought his finger up and flashed the engagement ring, "I'm sure my soon-to-be wife will beat them away. Same with those guys." He pointed over to Choji and Shino, who smugly brought their own rings out into the open. Damn, never saw that coming. "And can you believe it? Tsunade is our biggest customer! She's paying us to match up a shinobi and a kunoichi almost every day! And it's all thanks to Shino for starting this whole thing."

"Shino's Match-Making Business," Naruto repeated, jealousy filling his voice. "I never thought---"

"That's right, you never thought," Sasuke interjected, receiving a hard jab to the ribs from Naruto.

"I would have never thought," Naruto corrected, "that _Shino_ of all people would start his own match-making business. I remember almost twenty years ago, when we were all twelve. Shino was the quietest out of all of us!"

"Then he started budging into people's love lives," I added, sticking my tongue out jokingly.

"But it's thanks to he (A/N: Is that correct grammar? English isn't my best subject in school, and I never got used to where you use 'he' and 'him'), Kiba, and I that you and Neji got together. You didn't know that Shino told Neji to stay behind on the last day of school?" My jaw dropped when I heard that, and saw the guilty expression on Neji's face.

"Wait a sec," Kiba interupted, his eyebrows knitting together. "You _knew_ Neji and Tenten were going to get together before, and you _still_ told me they were going to do that outside?" Shino shrugged. "You told me you were on your way to find me, but instead you decided to stay and let me wait outside!" Another shrug.

"Actually," Hinata cut in, probably trying to make sure Kiba didn't cause a commotion, "I think Tsunade had a hand in this too, even though she had no idea what she was doing. After she became Hokage, she decided that a ninja high school was just a waste of time, so Tenten didn't have to repeat grade twelve because she failed ninjutsu."

"Don't remind me," I muttered, shielding my head with my arms on the table. "I can't believe I failed because of that stupid exam."

"Your average was already seventy-two percent," I heard Neji snorted. "Getting thirty-something percent on an exam that counted as most of your grade didn't help."

"Sorry, Mr. Perfect," I said sarcastically. "Just because you got an A on every exam, doesn't mean you have permission to harp on the subject."

Shikamaru decided to change the subject, but not for the better. "I heard Kei got married to some guy named Hiroki Moto. They've got four kids now."

"And you thought Shikamaru and I breed like rabbits?" Ino questioned, bringing up my previous comment.

Shikamaru blushed at that and cleared his throat. "I'm surprised Kei was able to have babies after the beating Sakura gave her!" Naruto exclaimed. Everyone at the table howled with laughter, well, most of us anyways. Even Neji, Sasuke, and Shino laughed a bit. "I bet her kids cause as much trouble as she does."

All of us nodded in agreement and took a sip of our water simultaneously. "So, where are the Sand?" Hinata inquired, placing her glass down silently.

"Temari and her husband went on a second honeymoon," I answered, "so Kankuro and Gaara have to take care of the kids."

"Why both of them?" Neji asked.

I gave him an 'are you serious?' look. "Would you trust Kankuro with our children? Or Gaara? No, and neither would Temari. Kankuro is just too, _irresponsible_, and Gaara would get pissed at any moment. Plus, Temari's trying to keep Kankuro away from the bars."

"Oh, he gets drunk and goes off with the ladies?" Lee said.

I shook my head and said seriously, "No, from behind bars." I received many disbelieving looks, yet I knew deep down they knew Kankuro would have gotten arrested. He just seemed like the type. "I'm joking!" I sighed, taking a large gulp of water then shaking the glass in the air. A waiter came towards me and refilled my glass. "Thank you." He nodded then walked away.

"Kankuro would totally get arrested, though," Sakura stated. I told you so.

Nods spread around the table.

And so, we reminisced about our past, and commented on how everyone has changed and 'blossomed', as Lee said. Hinata shared with us that she was pregnant with her second child, and Naruto patted her belly with pride. Their kids, as well as my own and Neji's, all have the Byakugan. Though it was strange, everyone found it fortunate. Hinata and Neji said they would get together and train the children to utilize the Byakugan to its fullest extent. Naruto said he once tried to train his son, Koumyou (or Kyo for short), and Hinata said it didn't go so well. Hiashi volunteered to train them, but Neji and Hinata decided that it would be a better experience if their parents taught them instead, and said they would tell Hiashi the next day.

"Hey, it's getting late," Ino said, standing up. "I just hope Inaka and Cho haven't caused any trouble."

"They're like you," Neji said, repeating me previously.

Ino frowned and stood up, slapping her palms onto the table. "Well, it's been great catching up with you guys, but we're off." She looked over at Shikamaru, who looked up at her boredly.

"We should all leave together," Naruto suggested, helping Hinata stand up. She stood up uncomfortably, her stomach protruding.

Everyone agreed and stood up, grabbing their things. I looked over at Neji, who smiled back. I could tell, even though he wouldn't admit to it easily, that he enjoyed it as well. We all made Kiba, Shino, and Choji pay because of their 'highly successful business', then walked out.

"I hope we can get together again soon," Lee said, his eyes burning with the fire that burned for over twenty years. Before he could comment any further, Lee bumped into a small girl in the middle of the road. "Oh, forgive me," he said, bowing low.

"I can't possibly do that," the girl said stiffly, dusting her pink dress off. "Watch where you're going next time."

"Excuse me," I stepped in, placing my hands on my hips, "but it's not very nice to boss people around like that. It was both of your faults."

"Excuse me," she said in a mocking tone, "but where do you get off bossing me around?"

Ino crouched down to her height, which wasn't that far down because she was taller than the average height at her age. She looked around eight, with raven black hair and emerald green eyes. "Where are your parents, little girl?"

"My dad is out of town on a mission, but my mommy is at home."

"Hey, Moto!" a boy from across the street called. "Get over here!"

The girl frowned and stuck her tongue out. "Stop calling me by my last name! It's Katsumi, you idiot. And I'm busy."

The boy shrugged then ran off with a few other kids. "Moto," Sakura repeated, glancing at Sasuke, then me, then Neji. "Do you think---"

"What's your mom's name," Ino asked.

"I don't think that's any of your business," Katsumi said rudely. I wanted to slap that girl right across the face at that moment, but stuffed my hands in my pockets to stop myself. "By my mom's name does mean respectful." Respectful... I looked at Neji, who seemed to catch on. Kei's name meant respectful.

"I guess it isn't hereditary," Naruto sneered, crossing her arms. Ino, Sakura, Hinata, and I snorted.

Katsumi looked enraged, and flipped Naruto off. "It's not very nice to do that," Hinata said kindly, smiling.

"Do you think we could talk to your mom?" Neji asked in a monotone, his lips slightly twitching.

The girl shrugged then took out her cell phone. I got a cell phone when I entered grade eight, and she _is_ eight years old! Unbelieveable, that pampered brat. "Hello? Mommy? There are people here that are picking on me." She sounded so whiney and innocent. Ugh. "Here's the ugly one."

She handed me the phone, and Neji moved forwards to punch the girl. I put a hand out, though, to stop her. "Hello?"

"Who are you?" The voice was satirizing and coated with familiarity. I couldn't help but laugh. Actually, I laughed so hard, people started to worry about me.

"Are you okay?" Neji asked, looking straight into my tearing eyes.

"Mmhmm," I hummed, wiping the tears. "K-Kei?" It came out more like a snigger than a question.

She shrieked, and I took that as a yes. "Ewwww, you're that whore from high school: Tenten!"

"Excuse me?" I gasped. "You're the one who probably slept with half the guys in the class before you graduated. I should have figured that Katsumi is your child; she bitches freely at anyone she can find to seek attention." The girl wrinkled her nose, probably because I swore.

Obviously, I caught her at a dead-end, so she changed the subject. "So, still living the single life with no kids?" Her smug voice made me want to reach through the phone, grab her tongue, and cut it off with one of my kunais.

"Actually, I'm happily married." I stole a glance at Neji and smiled, a small blush flooding my sunkissed cheeks.

Kei gasped loudly. "S'right, beeotch," Ino yelled into the phone with glee, "she's Tenten Hyuuga."

"Believe it!" Naruto added. (A/N: Sorry, I had to put that there.)

Sakura came to some realization and grinned like the Cheshire Cat cat. "Hey, isn't Hiroki Moto that nerd that nobody ever liked in high school? The really annoying guy that had no skills in ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu, yet he was so egotistical and a really big bastard that tried to impress girls? Figures someone like him would end up with someone like you. With four kids in the house with your personality, I'm surprised the neighbours haven't killed themselves yet."

"Bitch," Kei uttered before the dial tone rang.

I smiled and closed the cell phone and gave it to Katsumi, whose jaw hit the ground like rubber. "Thank you ever so much for allowing me to speak to your mother. I'd like to do it again next time." We all continued walking past the little girl, and I leaned over and kissed Neji full on the lips. "Oh yeah," I thought out loud tangling my fingers in his as we walked home with our friends beside us, "life is good."

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed this story. Even though I wanted to discontinue this story how many times because of writer's block, I stuck to it and finally came to the end. I hope the epilogue didn't ruin it X(

If it did, just forget about this epilogue and pretend it's not even here.

Thank you to (I hope I got everyone):

Native Boy, Cnguyen456, Blossoms of Spring, WeaponsMistress, RubberDuckiesWhoLikePieAndCake, Deefa, Dakotarox14, Tsukiko Yuki, Toko-Nozomi, lilchibihina, nejitenrocks, AngeChen, Phoenix Hollowell, Naruto-Lover227, MoriMori, sodenoshirayuki13, PandaChick100, MistressTenten, nefaith, AsianAnimeGoddess, Call Me Shira, Freddy and Cherries Garcia, Steffy27, That Kounichi Blaze, tenten1993, mappsgo, asian-ninja, babygurl1012, G-bunnycutie101, Rukia Chan9, shnobihime, everyday-snowangel, Liah Cauthon, disamnea, eijifan6654, BitterLife, Oblivion Shadow, RawrRemy, satsukiarisa, Kishiko-chan, Sailor Kunoichi, Jomai, Eliv, Unices, dianalovely1995, FallenRaindrops, Ehree, xroyal.momonessx, Purplewolfstar35, niwichan2468, Kunoichi-of the-Leaf, Wingless-Crying-Angel, MissBlonde7788, WritingIsMyGift, **and** MissynML

for reviewing for at least one chapter of my story! Actually, I think some of you only reviewed once... Meh, that doesn't matter. At least you reviewed, right?

And seriously, you guys made me feel really good about myself! I'm sure I'll do better in english when school starts...or at least I hope I will. I need to get an A in English!

Until Next Time,

Alusy...

-The Power of Youth-


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